Finding Our Way
by phoeboe
Summary: Where Rachel wasn’t overdosed and her roadtrip with Chloe happened. But of course, a small change of event can lead to drastic changes to the future.
1. Let’s never look back

**Prologue:** _Let's never look back_

The road was pitch black but the stars gave a few light, though barely. The headlight of a truck bothered the serene setting, laughters bothered the quiet night, and for a moment, giving it life.

The bluenette driver couldn't stop grinning at her blonde companion who also can't stop smiling. "Holy shit, Chloe. I can't believe it!" The smaller girl exclaimed.

 _That's the sixth time you said it, angel._

But the punk can't seem to let the words out, because– well– she's right. Even Chloe is still feeling stuporous.

 _Me neither, Rach. I_ still _can't believe it, we're really leaving Arcadia Bay… for good._

"Alright, alright, okay." Rachel let out a breath, trying to calm herself down, but no more further let out another series of giggles. "It took us this long but… we're finally free!"

"Three years too long." Chloe muttered. Silly to think that they'd planned this the first time they've met, even sillier to think that for a bunch of lost children, they're actually doing it.

They're finally leaving that toxic town.

"Hey," Rachel said softly, _too_ softly that Chloe wouldn't even notice if she hadn't touched her arm. "It has been a long, rocky years but…" She gripped gently on her arm, quirking the side of her lip. "We're here, and no one will stop us — _is stopping us_."

"Unless of course if your parents started looking for you, or you know, step-dildo started hunting me down like I'm a loose psychopath. I swear to god, that asshole is keeping me like a prisoner."

The blonde only shook her head, her infamous blue feather earring swaying with it, "Fuck them."

She started smirking at Chloe and suddenly put her head out the window, "You hear me, Arcadia Bay?! Fuck you!" The thrilled teen then flipped the air behind them off, the punk laughing.

Letting out a breath, Chloe put her hand out the window beside her, feeling the air — feeling the gradual change, reminding her that it _is_ happening.

Chloe felt like she's on repeat.

But, whatever. Rachel's right, _fuck them._

Letting in a breath, Chloe also shouted out the window, "Fuck you, Arcadia Bay!"

"Yes!" Rachel only laughed boisterously.

The truck swooshed through the chilly air. The night was young, but so were they. They felt like they can conquer anything.

oOo

The truck stopped in the middle of the road for a while, Chloe didn't know how it happened but suddenly they're chilling with a bunch of college students in a middle of a road trip, camping out in a middle of nowhere.

 _Shit, that's a lot of middle._

Chloe leaned against the hood of her truck, her left arm is tucked under her right one holding a lit joint. The air was chilly, but the camp fire made it warm… kinda.

The bluenette just stared at the scene in front her, a group of friends gathered around the burning wood, sharing stories, bottles in hand, others have cigarettes, some music playing out of their car. They don't know their names and she doesn't know theirs, but they trust both girls enough to let them in their camp, apparently.

Rachel is happy enough to oblige and, unsurprisingly, they went along great. She's already laughing with them as Chloe can see.

And Chloe is staring at Rachel a lot.

As if sensing her, the blonde looked up at Chloe, then smirked at her. Standing up, she went closer to the bluenette.

Her golden mane swayed — Chloe can already feel the softness just by looking at it — her blue feather earring seemed to popped with the warm hue the fire provided. Rachel wore a fitting grey high-necked tank top, her black bra straps showing. For some reason, Chloe moved her eyes to her hips, swaying nicely as she walked towards her.

 _It's probably because of the denim shorts she's wearing… or her red flannel hugging beautifully against it…_

 _Or maybe you're just too gay for this girl. Jesus Christ, Chloe._

"What's a girl like you doing out here alone?" Rachel crossed her arms, smirking coyly at the punk girl. Chloe only chuckled, shaking her head at the girl in front of her. She's already used to flirty Rachel… but she still doesn't know how to react to flirty Rachel. At all.

Said girl put her arms beside Chloe, resting it on the hood behind the punk… and now she's close to her. _Very_ close.

With their nose touching, both of their eyes half-lidded, Rachel murmured, "C'mon," The girl started grinning, flashing her teeth then grabbed both of Chloe's hands, "Let's dance."

Once near the raging fire, the crowd of friends hollered, but the girl with blue locks didn't seem to bother neither did the blonde, she's stuck staring at the girl in front of her already dancing to whatever music was playing.

 _Her angel._

Chloe can feel her own fire raging to life. For a moment, she just stood there in awe before Rachel gracefully moved towards her, still dancing beautifully. The girl danced around her companion, touching shoulders, placing her hand on the punk's hips, kissing her neck, _smelling her hair._

The pot Chloe smoked admittedly worked wonders but… more admittedly, this is better.

 _So, so much better._

Chloe smiled, content.

oOo

Chloe can hear the soft whispers of the wind. It wasn't chilly, not warm either. Or maybe it's a mix of both, you'd feel the cold _then_ the warmth. And it goes like that, a tango of temperature, she suppose.

 _Yep, smoked too much for the night._

Both girls were laid down on the trunk of Chloe's blanket-and-pillow-filled truck. The group of friends were already asleep in their tents, but the camp fire still cackled softly in the background. Chloe gazed at the stars, Rachel gazed at the girl beside her.

Sighing, the blonde moved closer to the girl, wrapping her arms around her waist and resting her head on the nook of her neck, their legs tangled together.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Rachel hummed.

Chloe quirked the side of her lip, as if she would tell her that she's thinking about _temperature_ for crying out loud. But she opened her mouth anyway, "Have you ever think that we'll never leave that shithole? Or what if we never did?"

Rachel only scrunched her nose, "Thinking deep there, Chlobear." She smiled either way, "But I'll bite," The girl adjusted her position, resting her head on the bluenette's chest this time.

"You know what I think?" Rachel said softly, tracing with her fingers on the older girl's sleeve tattoo. "That this happened for a reason." She continued, her fingers trailing the curves of each vine. "And if we never left the bay?" She abruptly stopped her fingers, "Something must have happened if that were the case."

Chloe hummed, "Good or bad?"

"Neither," Rachel then shrugged, "Either. Who knows."

The smaller girl then stretched, making _that_ sound when you... well… stretch. To the other girl's surprise, Rachel suddenly sat on her stomach, her face looking at her bewildered ones, the blonde curls tickling Chloe's face. "Isn't pillow talk suppose to be _after_ making out slash love?"

The older girl only widened her eyes more. Years with Rachel, and she's still not used to her crudity. The girl on top of her giggled, "You're too cute, you know that?" She leaned down and pecked Chloe's lips. Once apart, both girls stared at each other, half-lidded.

Then Rachel kissed Chloe with full force, holding her right cheek, and the latter girl moaning.

 _A world where you and I never left that place? That'll suck ass. That world can go fuck itself._


	2. I can’t ever make you stay

**Chapter One:** _I can't ever make you stay_

Chloe dreams a lot of things. She gets those dreams where she's the hero, where's she's the super villain, where she's the sidekick. Fuck, if she's honest with herself, yes, she does have wet dreams. Although, like everyone else, these dreams are just a big _blur_. Only remembering the awesome parts — sometimes none at all.

But a dream where the events are hazy, though remembering _every details_? Chloe thinks she's very special, to say the least. She would've told her girlfriend about it but… would anyone really want to hear that they dreamed about their rotting corpse shallowly buried in a stupid _junkyard_ of all places?

Not just a stupid junkyard, it's _their_ stupid junkyard… American Rust.

That's the thing, the details were very distinct, every rusted cars, wilting flowers, scattered junks are perfectly placed. Some new stuffs were in there too…

 _Like…_ her _writing on that wall for example? Or maybe the fact that she was there with you, hanging out as if those years apart never happened?_

 _… Psh, yeah, wake up, Chloe. You haven't heard anything about her for eight fucking years._

She would have discarded those dreams as some… _thing_. Like a weird mending-a-bridge-thing, a– a closure with Max _fucking_ Caulfield. Because as much as Chloe doesn't like to admit, she does miss her. She would have discarded them as silly dreams to reconnect with her but it's just too _real_ to discard.

The dream would start her, angry but determined, meeting Nathan Prescott in one of Blackwell's bathroom. They were talking something that she didn't even understand but in the back of her head, she _knows_. She just doesn't know what it is exactly. Before she knows it, a gun was resting in the middle of her stomach and _BANG!_

Chloe scrunched up her nose, suddenly holding tightly to her stomach because that's the thing. She _felt_ that sting, she felt every movement of the bullet passing through her… _and then not._

This has been on for three years now. Same dreams, but different outcomes.

 _Ugh, this is all so confusing. Why the fuck am I thinking about this first thing in the morning?_

Chloe finally opened her eyes to see the oh-so-familiar bumpy white ceiling. It was quiet. And cold, not the air, but the atmosphere. Chloe let out a sigh.

She got up from the bed noticing first the broken alarm clock lying on the floor. _Right… that happened._

Her and Rachel rarely fight, really. It's just that… it becomes more frequent as the years stretch. Rubbing her eye, she stood up and went to the bathroom. She looked at the mirror and saw a — woman? Not quite sure if she's used to that.

She was wearing a random tank top that covered her tall and lean figure. Gone was the infamous blue hair she donned in her teen years, it's replaced by a dark violet color. Her hair was also shorter, kept in a side-cut hairstyle. It keeps the heat bearable.

Chloe sighed once more and got ready.

When finished, her boots stomped on the floor and she picked up the poor broken clock and threw it in the bin.

 _Looks like I'm buying a new one… again._

Approaching to their dinner table, she found a note. And for a moment, Chloe smiled.

 ** _Rina called and said I need to be early. There's some leftovers in the fridge, might want to heat that up. Also, sorry for last night, you know how I get. We'll talk about that later. Love you._**

 ** _xoxo R_**

Yeah, they may fight but somehow, someway they always get back on their feet.

And maybe that's enough.

oOo

L.A. traffic is the worst.

You would've thought that she would get used to it by now, but, _fuck_ , does it suck as hell. What's even worse is the _fucking parking space._

 _Jesus Christ, hold me back._

Grumbling, Chloe can only pursed her lip, waiting for an opportunity to arrive. Yeah, she never learned to plan ahead, just not her thing.

Once parked, she basically praised whoever it is that's above. She grabbed Rachel's lunch and went ahead to her girlfriend's workplace.

"Hey, Chloe," An older guy greeted by the front desk, not looking up from his desktop. "Rachel's out for today, but she said if you ever brought her l–" He was abruptly stopped when the taller girl practically threw the plastic bag on his desk, "–unch you can leave it here." He continued and smiled, though obviously forced.

Chloe only smirked. What can she say, irking someone is her specialty. "'Sup, Wallace."

"Please leave."

The girl only rolled her eyes, her lips quirked up. "Cranky, as usual." Chloe just saluted and left.

It's not the first time Chloe gave lunch to Rachel's ghostly presence in the building. Her girl's busy, already climbing high to stardom. She never doubted that the girl can achieve her dreams as a model. Don't get her wrong, she would support her all the way but… she's been giving less time and attention to her now.

 _I mean… it's understandable, but not…?_

Ugh, she's been thinking too much lately, she needed a smoke.

Nearing her car (let's be real, she knows too well that her truck isn't gonna last long), she got her keys out, her old panda keychain making noise with it. She opened her car door when she heard a familiar laugh. Looking up, she saw Rachel with a guy, the blonde was holding a cup of coffee. Chloe can't see the guy's face, his back is the only thing she can see.

"Thanks for the lunch. God knows how _starved_ I was."

 _Huh. Should've called earlier that you're hungry? Or maybe inform me that you'd be getting lunch before I came here? Right. Yeah, okay._

Scowling, Chloe got inside the car and slammed the door shut before they can see her. She stretched her fingers that were resting on the steering wheel and let in a breath. After a few seconds, she let it out.

 _You need to calm down, Chloe. No more acting on impulse, remember?_

Chloe remembers damn well. She almost broke that girl's nose. And she almost crushed Rachel's chance too. God, the shouting after that were bad, like _real bad._

 _"Oh, please, Chloe. I know you don't trust me and all, but — fuck — you should have at least have the right mind to think. Stop acting like a child! The world is not out to get you!"_

It stung.

She's just overthinking. Right?

Whatever.

She just really needed that smoke.

oOo

"Maybe you shouldn't have done that!"

"Well, _maybe_ , you shouldn't be _fucking whoring around!_ "

" _Whoring?!_ I'll tell you who's the real whore here! Yo—"

Chloe only rolled her eyes and stubbed her cigarette on the mossy wall beside here.

 _Fucking hell, you would've think I've picked the right place to smoke, to run away from my own problems, yet here I am, listening to a fucking radio drama. Christ, ever thought of getting a room?_

Chloe scowled again at the fighting couple, and kicked at the nearest thing beside her. It caught their attention for a while before they started bickering once more.

The older girl groaned and rubbed her temples, stomping away from the noise. With her eyebrows scrunched, she just walked. And walked. And walked. It would've been peaceful if her phone didn't rang.

The world has been testing Chloe's patience lately.

"What," She grumbled.

"Chloe! Shouldn't you be here _twenty minutes_ ago? You know that the big man's gonna get pissed when he founds out you're late again!"

"I'm great, Dez, thanks for asking."

Silence.

"Wow, that bad, huh?" Maybe Chloe did smiled a little. She just knew her too well. "Alright, but you owe me. You know how hard it is to keep up with your work. What am I suppose to say to your loyal customers!"

Chloe chuckled at that, "You're selling yourself short, Dez, you'll do great."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just remember that you owe me… twice!" Before Chloe can retort, her phone beeped. She only shook her head.

Dez has been her friend when Chloe started working at the tattoo shop near their apartment, which has been for a year now. It didn't pay much like Rachel's but… y'know... a little contribution won't hurt.

Speaking of which, she did say she'd buy a new alarm clock… maybe a little beer won't hurt too. She's so glad that a grocery store is nearby.

"Thank you so much, Kate. You don't know how much this means to me. I'll be back as fast as I can, I pr–"

A woman fussing over her phone isn't even looking where she's going and bumped right into Chloe, "Hey! Watch it!" Chloe scowled.

"Shit!" The things from her bag suddenly clattered on the ground, and she immediately went down and get it. Chloe sighed. Again.

 _World, why._

Calming herself down, she crouched and helped the poor girl. She grabbed as much as she can and lent it to her.

"Thank you. God, I'm so clumsy, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. I–" Chloe stopped abruptly, her eyes widened when she saw the familiar shade of blue and the wild dots scattered across the bridge of her nose to her cheeks — a pattern she knew too much… but she can see there were additional ones.

The girl in front of her suddenly smiled, "Chloe?"

"Max?"

 _What. The. Fuck._

"Oh my god! It is you!" The brunette grinned so wide it kinda blinded Chloe for a second there.

While she just stared, stupidly shocked.

The shorter girl had her long hair tied in a messy ponytail (seemed rushed), she wore a simple striped shirt with what they call those _mom-jeans_ , finishing it with a simple sneakers.

Simply Max Caulfield.

 _But, what the fuck? When did she get curves? It's not that much, but_ still...

As far as Chloe can remember, the girl has always been late when it comes to growing up (but never when it comes to being mature, she knows that damn well.)

 _Holy shit, look at that a–_

"Chloe?" The younger girl looked squeamish. She then smiled, though not as full as earlier. She opened her mouth but it seemed like she doesn't know what to say either.

"Max Caulfield, as I live and breathe." The older girl smiled, surprisingly genuine. Chloe bit her lip, thinking what to say next. She then looked at the entrance of the grocery store. "You were about to get something?" She asked and pointed with her thumb to the store.

Max scrunched her eyebrows but kept her small smile. "Yeah."

"Then let's go."

oOo

"So…" Chloe awkwardly placed her hands behind her head, looking anywhere but the girl in front of her searching for whatever. It's hard, really. "You decided that Seattle's not for you, then?"

Max let out an amused breath out of her nose, "It was _never_ for me, to be honest. I guess it just feels like it's too much."

"Why L.A.?"

"Oh," She looked distracted for a second, "I'm just temporarily smooching off of some friend, at least until I can pick myself up."

 _What?_

"Adulthood can come so suddenly." She added immediately, laughing it off. "What about you?" She looked like as if she wanted to add more but didn't.

"Ah, well. Finally got my ass out of that town." Chloe thought of what to say next but it just came out too long of a time.

Awkward.

"Chloe?" The taller girl finally looked at Max. She looked troubled.

After a few moments, she finally blurted out, "It's... it's okay to yell at me. I– I know I'm such an ass for not contacting in like a decade. So… it's okay if you don't want to talk anymore if this is making you uncomfortable. I'd understand completely." This time, the smaller girl is the one looking anywhere but at Chloe.

It took a while for Chloe to respond, so when she opened her mouth, Max flinched — possibly waiting for the outlash. "First of all, as punk as my look can get, I still do have some decency to not burst in a public place," _Unlike some people._ "Second, it's only been _eight years_ — decade's ten. Lastly…" She took a deep breath before continuing, "I get it, you feel guilty. Maybe stop worrying about that and just focus on… I don't know, making up to me?"

The shocked look of the smaller girl transferred to the other when she suddenly leaped up hugging the older girl. "I missed you." She whispered so softly by her ear, tickling it a bit — her voice even withered for a second.

 _Goddammit._

Not knowing what to say, she just hugged back.

 _Hm, definitely has more fat… what the_ hell _am I doing?_

"And, I promise, I'll make it up to you." She then continued looking for what she needed, and not a minute too soon they were already walking towards the cashier.

Chloe thought for a minute about buying the beer she promised herself, but then, "Hey, Caulfield, wanna get lunch?"

Max seemed to think for a second before, "Sure, I'm actually famished."

"Great. Your treat though. You think you'd get off the hook easily?"

The freckled girl only chuckled, "Of course not."

oOo

The retro-styled diner wasn't packed but they can still hear chatters from customers; spoon, knives, forks scraping plates alike; and that stupid music playing from the speakers. For a moment, Chloe felt homesick, remembering Two Whales.

 _Mom_.

Chloe pursed her lip, staring blankly at the wooden table in front of her. _Wonder how she's doing?_

Guilty as charged, Chloe never contacted anyone from Arcadia ever since they left, desperately wanting to cut all ties. Cutting off her own mother was the hardest, and to this very day, guilt and regret is gnawing at her insides. She would love to call her, no doubt — god, does she miss her — but…

 _Now I kinda know what Max felt…_

The very wooden table that she was staring at was cut off when a pale hand was placed on top of it, she looked up and saw Max sitting down in front of her already. "Their bathroom is actually very spacey."

 _Yeah, you would think that… Spacey… heh, cute._

"So!" Max chirped, then literally beamed when the food came.

 _Breakfast for lunch all the way!_

She took a bite of the waffles, before pursing her lips — _Oh, wow, what the fuck? She's adorable?_ "When you tasted the best waffles, nothing could ever compare."

"Oh? Where would _that_ be?" Chloe asked then stabbed the poor bacon before eating it. _Bleh, I think I know how you feel, this is nothing compare to mom's._ "And haven't your mother told you to not talk when your mouth is full?"

It's for the shortest moment, if you blinked, you'd missed it, but she thought that she saw Max flinched when she mentioned the word 'mother'. She then smiled, "Are you kidding me? Joyce makes _the best_ food."

Chloe didn't meant to frown so quickly but Max obviously noticed it, her mouth opened and closed for a while, not knowing what to say. Again.

The younger girl finished chewing her food before clearing her throat. Chloe's eyes zoomed in on her lips when she bit it.

"Um," The freckled girl chuckled nervously, "So, uh… I actually came back to Arcadia Bay a few years back," Her eyebrows were knitted together, the saltshaker was suddenly more interesting. "Imagine my surprise when I found out you left the town a few days prior." She then let out an faux-amused sigh and shook her head, playing idly with her earlobe.

 _What? What the fuck?_

Chloe could only stare. You know those scenes where everything is just white noise when you're shell-shocked? That's bullshit.

The taller girl was fairly aware of the noises. The chatters, some people chewing so obnoxiously loud, a fork falling off the table, a kid crying, someone shouting, _that fucking music._

She's also fairly aware of the girl in front of her. How she's trying hard to make herself look even smaller, her arms formed a v-shape against her petite figure, no doubt her hands fiddling with each other underneath the table. Few strands of brown hair splayed messily on her forehead forming a fringe, small beads of sweat was even produced by the L.A. heat. Her ocean blue eyes looked so _old_ for her age ( _damn, those bags look heavy_ ), it keeps on moving, looking anywhere else but Chloe.

The older girl snapped out of her thoughts when Max finally spoke, "Joyce… Joyce misses you, Chloe. She worries a lot about you too."

 _Way to twist the knife, Max. Fuck._

Chloe closed her eyes before slumping in her seat, "Yeah," Wetting her lips, she sat straight again. "Her shitty daughter just keeps on getting shittier, amirite?"

Max frowned at her.

 _Okay, what the flying fuck am I saying._

"I know, I fucked up real bad. I– I just…" She sighed. "I miss her too."

She looked up when she felt warmth engulfing her left hand and saw Max holding it, a small smile in her face. "You can always contact her anytime."

That moment lasted for like a minute… Chloe's not sure what she should feel about that… her hand was kinda distracting her.

That moment was shattered when a shrilling noise rang.

Maybe she already knows what she felt.

Too late, she supposed.

Max searched for her phone then answered the call, "Hello?"

Chloe snapped out of it. _I don't know how many times I've said it already but… what the fuck? Honestly, what the fuck was that?_

She looked at Max and saw her face filled with warmth, "Hey, baby, how are you?" Even her smile was warm and Chloe felt like her insides went cold. "Miss you too, but I'll be home soon, okay? You take care, alright?" She fucking giggled. "Mhm, I love you too… Yeah, just text me if she's already there, 'kay? Bye."

She shook her head when she hung up and smiled dumbly at her phone.

 _What the hell was that? A boyfriend? A girlfriend? Husband? Wife? Fuck if I know… Fuck if I_ wanna _know._

 _Why the fuck am I asking a lot of questions lately._

"Looks like you're needed elsewhere." Did she sounded other than being polite? She hoped she didn't sound… anything else. At all.

"Oh, that's nothing, he just needs constant attention." She continued eating the waffles.

 _He, huh?_

Chloe doesn't know why but… that made her sad — disappointed? — for some reason.

 _And, good lord, needy much? What are you doing with a guy like that?_

It's not like her business or anything.

"Do you need a lift? I'm not sure if I saw you with a car." Chloe started finishing her plate.

Max looked up and said, "If you don't mind, sure. And, yeah, I just took the bus.".

 _Why don't you call your boyfriend to pick you up if he wants to see you so badly then?... Genuinely confused, s'all._

"You don't have to take me home yet… I kinda want to hang out with you." She smiled.

 _Wait, what?_

Chloe thought she was being possessed because she sure as hell know she didn't just smiled back to Max Caulfield on her own accord.

oOo

"So… how is life treating Chloe Price?" Max seemed to light up at the taller girl.

It was already nearing dusk and god knows where time went. Really, Chloe is legitimately confused.

She can hear the waves softly crashing by the shore, gulls flew here and there, some people in the distance — for now, they were in the quiet part of the beach. Just sand, rocks, saltwater, palm trees, and… well, sand. Warm lighting seemed to emit from the sun that was dipped in the sea.

Chloe smiled when she remembered a specific moment.

 _"You and me on the Santa Monica pier, gorging on food truck food, smoking up, looking at the moon shining on the waves…"_

They did went to the Santa Monica pier, they did gorged on food truck food, they did smoked and watched the sunset until they saw the moon shining on the waves… _and then some._

Chloe woke up from the memory and looked up to see Max looking for shells, patiently waiting for her answer probably.

The taller girl then put her hands behind her head — a sign of feeling awkward, she just noticed. "Ah, well, there's not much. I mean, my girlfriend and I live in an okay apartment, I guess. She's working hard on being a model, while I ink on people. Go to bars here and there, smoke pot here and there." She then shrugged afterwards.

 _Ah, the life of Chloe Price._

"How about you? You still have that hippie camera carrying around with you? Are you a renowned photographer now?" She said and grabbed a random stone on the sand before skipping it on the saltwater beside her. She noticed the variety of warm color the sun painted on the waters by then. "Wow, now _this_ is the best view of the sunset. What do photographers call that again?"

 _Why the hell do I sense a déjà vu just then?_

When she noticed the reply took too long, she looked at her companion and caught her staring blankly at the waves, eyebrows knitted together, her hand clutching hardly on the small shell she picked up. "The golden hour."

The smaller girl then relaxed and faced Chloe, her face donning a squeamish smile. "And, no, not a photographer," Her face _was_ relaxed, but her hand is still clamped tightly on the poor shell. "Turns out it just isn't meant to be. I'm actually a teacher at the moment."

 _What_?

"What?" Oops, that slipped. "Dude, you have _hella_ mad talent."

 _Wow, haven't said_ that _in a while._

"Why waste that on _teaching_ for fuck's sake! To students who don't give a shit!"

Max opened her mouth then closed it again, she looked unsure what she's going to say next, "I guess things just happen." She shrugged, "Besides, I teach little kids, and they're very adorable actually."

"Yeah, you would think that, wouldn't you." Chloe then widened her eyes when she felt small splashes on her face, she faced her companion and saw her smirking.

"Oh, so that's how it is." She crouched down and dipped her hand in the waves. "You just picked on the wrong ship, lass."

A squeal can be heard in the distance followed by a series of laughs as the warm sun paint over the two girls and the sea.

oOo

"No way! Syd Matters makes great music!"

"Said every tumblr hippie ever." The punk holding the wheel snorted. The girl on the passenger seat only pushed her shoulders and crossed her arms afterwards.

The sky was starry and the neighborhood was quiet, Chloe's not sure if she has been in this side of L.A. It seemed more _expensive_ than usual.

"Just turn a left here." Max instructed.

 _Holy shit._

"Damn, Max! Who's your sugar momma?" Chloe can only stare, her mouth open at the house — _fuck was it a mansion?_

Max only chuckled, "Good night, Che."

Chloe felt warm at that… _Here's to hoping that it's not my face._

Max went out of the car, and once the door was closed she turned around then crouched down to look through the window. Chloe rolled it down.

"Call me whenever, okay?" She frowned for a bit. "I _promise_ , I'll answer this time." She smiled weakly.

"You're making a lot of promises today, Maximus. You better not break them," The other girl can only smile back… _And here's to hoping that I'm mistaken and my voice didn't just cracked._

"See you soon, Cap'n."

Chloe saluted and drove away once she saw Max got inside.

What a day.

 _I'd never thought that I'd meet Max again after years and still hang out as if nothing ever happened… You're hopeless, Price. Fucking hopeless._

They just spent their time hanging out. She wasn't sure what all the conversation they had was all about, but she was sure that she never felt _this_ happy for too long.

She had a feeling that it should be a bad thing.

And she's not sure what to feel about that.

Once she entered their apartment, she first noticed her girlfriend sitting on the couch with her phone in her hand as if she just finished a call.

"Hey, babe." Chloe greeted, shrugging off her leather jacket. "How's work?"

"I don't know, how's yours?"

 _Was that rhetorical? I'm not sure…? And why would it be rhetorical anyway?_

"Uh," Chloe shrugged. _Shit_.

Rachel then scoffed, then laughed… quite unamused. Chloe thought she was off the hook when the blonde relaxed back on the chair, facing the window by her right.

While still staring at the night sky, she asked quietly, "Who were you with?"

 _Jeez, there's no need to be dramatic there, Rach._

Chloe's a bit concerned.

The taller girl knitted her eyebrows before she answered, "Remember Max?" Feeling all relaxed, Chloe went and scavenged the fridge. When she got no reply, she continued, "Turns out she's staying here for a while. Bumped into her, like literally bumped into her, how cliché was that?"

Finding that there were no food she then asked, "Hey, wanna order take out?"

"Max?" The blonde finally spoke. "The one who left you for Seattle? I thought that you think she's a selfish bitch who abandoned you?"

"I dunno," Chloe remembered what Max had said, "Things just happen, I guess." She then frowned, "Where is this coming from anyway? How did you even know I didn't go to work today, hell, how _did_ you know that I was with somebody?"

The other girl just rolled her eyes, "Oh, please, Chloe. It's eight, your work ends at five, what, you go wondering by yourself for three hours?" Her frown deepened, "And you were smiling deep in thought when you got here."

"Jesus, you sound like step-dick, why are you so paranoid anyway? It's just Max."

"You spent your whole day with this _"just Max"_ when—"

"Funny, coming from you. Who was that guy you had lunch with anyway? Do you know how _fucking frustrating_ it is to go—"

"Don't you dare change the su—"

"It seems to me that _you_ are the one ch—"

"Just, _shut u_ —"

"What the _fuck_ are you even on abou—"

" _FUCK!_ " The room was filled with silence when Rachel threw the small table lamp that was positioned near the couch.

Closing her eyes, Chloe sighed, "Rachel—"

" _No_ ," She looked contemplative, "Can we please just… talk this out tomorrow… I'm… I'm stressed and tired right now,"

Chloe only frowned again, "What? _No_ , we have a lot to discuss about, Rach, you can't just—"

"Sleep on the couch for tonight." Rachel then dismissed her.

 _That's it?_

Chloe felt a vein about to pop when she heard the lock to their bedroom.

 _Fuck that._

Grumbling, she grabbed her jacket and rushed straight to her car. She doesn't have anything in mind when she drove, she just did. She was surprised when she stopped the car in front of the fancy house she dropped Max off. Too angry to care, she just got out of her car and knocked at the door. Or maybe pounded.

The door opened revealing a woman with stupidly straight blonde hair and was tucked neatly behind her ears. She would have been beautiful if she wasn't scowling, glaring lasers.

The woman in front of her widened her eyes suddenly, "Price?"

Chloe's own scowl vanished, "Victoria?"


	3. Your heart is too strong anyway

**Chapter Two:** _Your heart is too strong anyway_

Both girls just stared at each other, dumbfounded. Victoria's the first one to snapped out of it.

"How the _fuck_ do you know my house?" She glared at her. "And what the hell are you doing here? _At this hour?!_ "

 _I do not need this right now._

Cutting to the chase, Chloe crossed her arms and curtly replied, "Where's Max?"

The other girl just looked at her dubiously before rolling her eyes. "Get inside."

Once inside, Chloe scanned the image in front of her. Everything looks modern. And clean. And big. _And expensive._

Chloe raised an eyebrow at a frame that is openly displayed. _The fuck is this, Kinky Vicky?_

"Don't you dare touch that, Price," The punk felt her heart jumped out of her chest. "Unless you're willing to pay for that which I doubt you could afford."

 _This bitch. I swear to god I am punching somebody's face today if she doesn't stop talking._

"Just get Max, will ya?" Chloe crossed her arms again, glaring at the woman haughtily standing at the staircase before said woman began climbing up.

When she's out of view, Chloe can only sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

 _How did I get here?_

Chloe frowned once more and sat at one of the chairs placed in the living area. _And what the hell are you doing with_ her _of all people, Max?_

… _Damn, this is one comfy chair… hmm, mayb—_

She stopped mid-thought when a mousy brunette suddenly came into view. Chloe noticed that she's already in her sleepwear — a baggy shirt that's just _way_ too big for her that it slipped off her shoulder showcasing more freckles scattered all over it. Some comfy shorts, and her hair is tied hastily in a bun, wild strands are all over, framing her face.

"Hey, Chloe, didn't think I'd see you this soon," She smiled cutely and then widened her eyes, "I'm— I'm not complaining or anything."

"It's alright, Maxie, I just…" _Fuck, what was I thinking, this isn't even her_ own _home… Maybe I should've called Dez._ "Uh, you know what, forget about it."

Yeah, shrug it off. Just like that. Real smooth.

Chloe stood up and was about to leave but Max was fast enough to get in her way. "What do you mean forget about it?" One look at her eyes showed genuine concern. She softly smiled but her eyebrows were knitted close, "Do you really expect me to believe that nothing's wrong?"

Chloe's not sure why, but she feels like smooching off of Little Princess Chase too but…

 _Nope. Nope! Gotta act responsible…_ _even if it means not getting the good shit. Huh, I bet the guest room already have the softest bed I could ever sleep on._

Dammit.

 _If mom could see me now._

"You want to crash here." The taller girl blinked at Max.

"How d—"

"Intuition." She crossed her arms. "And, well, you keep on staring at the couch you just sat on."

"You sure you didn't just rewind time to tell me that?" The punk said jokingly, but there's something nagging at the back of her head. Something that tells her that it _is_ possible.

 _Crazy._

"Even if I do have rewind powers, I don't have to," Max chuckled. And there it is again, a moment between them. They just stared at each other, blues in two different hues colliding. And Chloe just drank the image of Max.

Her face had matured, but what most prominent was her eyes. It felt like it carried the world's problems. And yet, it felt like it _wants_ to. Chloe also noticed how dark her bags have gotten. It was probably covered with make up the whole day. Her hair was all over the place and so was her freckles, small acnes here and there too. It was the most beautiful mess Chloe had ever seen.

"Hey, lovebirds," Chloe blinked repeatedly and looked away to see Victoria crossing her arms, an unamused expression on her face. "Have you ever thought of what the owner of the house would say, hm?"

"Oh," Snapping out of her daze, Max then faced her. "Victoria, can—"

"No."

 _All these years and you're still a snotty bitch. That's a new record._ _How can you stand this, Max?_

"C'mon, Tori, it's just one night." _Tori…?_

"You are nuts, Maxine." _Maxine…?_ "I already gave you consideration with—"

"Please?" And there goes the big guns, Max's doe eyes. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Victoria contemplated before, "Christ! _Fine._ But if she would stay another day, she better start paying rent." Chloe can barely hear it, but Victoria whispered to herself, " _When did I started becoming a charity case?_ "

"Thank you!" Max beamed and to Chloe's surprise hugged her.

 _Huh. The untouchable Victoria Chase… just became a puddle before Max Caulfield. Who knew..._

 _That's a long-ass hug._

Victoria looked flustered for a second or two before pushing her away, "Don't touch me."

To Chloe's never ending surprise, instead of being offended, Max just laughed it off.

 _Am I… missing something here?_

If there was, Chloe's not sure what to feel about it.

Again.

Max then grabbed Chloe's hand, "C'mon, Che, I'll show you around."

Chloe thought that it wasn't necessary to grab her hand — she's not going anywhere in the first place anywayBut she also thought that it was cute, it's as if they were tweens again. It's as if she's asking for reassurance that she's here.

 _Sap._

Max led her to the stairs, but before going up, she briefly showed where the kitchen and dining area are, just a few walks down she said. And once they got upstairs, Max only showed her the essentials — her room ( _it has its own bathroom!_ ), Max's room, and Victoria's ( _"I advise you to stay away from her room, she gets… nasty when someone's touching her stuffs."_ )

Now Chloe's concerned what other stuff does Victoria has to have more rooms; the place was massive.

Max then left her by her assigned room for the night. When Chloe was done staring at the lavished bedroom before her and the bathroom it contains, she finally took notice that she has no spare clothes.

It would've been fine if she and Max hadn't splashed by the ocean, now Chloe can only feel every grain of sand on her body… she hadn't been graceful, to say the least. Also, she wanted to try the showers here.

Main reason, actually. _I mean, why not?_ Although, that would mean she might need to borrow clothes for a while… and Bitchtoria is a no-go.

 _Hm, I did saw Max wearing a huge shirt. That would fit fine, she probably owns more._

With that decision in mind, she went straight to Max's door and knocked — _hey, I learned to be an adult too._ "Max?"

When she heard no answer she just shrugged and went inside. Once the door was opened, she noticed that it wasn't like her own room. Where hers has the open space where the bed occupied was the first thing she would see, here it's like a small corridor first before the space expanded where Chloe believed the bed was placed. Oh, and it's _so much_ bigger.

 _So unfair._

Looking around, she moved forward. "Hey, Maximus, got any clothes to borrow?" When she faced away from a weirdly painted abstract painting of a woman with some sort of hybrid of a wolf, a beaver, and an octopus _— Blech! Artists_ — she turned around only to be met by an empty room.

"Max?"

"Just a minute!" A voiced echoed from what Chloe assumed to be the bathroom door.

Pursing her lips, she just kept on looking around. She then spotted a singular picture frame by the bedside. She stared at it and immediately recognized Vanessa and Ryan Caulfield — Max's parents. What she didn't recognized was the bundle that Vanessa was carrying. Peering closely, she saw an infant ( _it's so small, how is that possible?_ ), it looked like it was just born.

Before Chloe can ponder over it, Max then exited out of the bathroom.

"Hey, Che, do you need something?" She let out a small smile while tying her once messy hair neatly.

"Yeah, I need some spare clothes to sleep in."

"Sure, hold on," She crossed to other side of the room to get the clothes from her dresser, and after a few minutes, she came back holding out neatly folded clothes.

"I'm not sure if these would fit, I'll just let you pick whichever you like. You can use my bathroom if you want to freshen up now."

Chloe then took the stack of clothes from her. "Sure, thanks, Maximus!" She went to Max's bathroom afterward, accepting her offer.

 _Yep, this bathroom is more grand._

After taking advantage of… well, everything, she took an extra towel from the cabinets and dried herself, then putting on some fitting-enough shirt and shorts — though, it's _too_ short.

 _Meh, beggars can't be choosers._

When she's done drying her hair with the towel, she hanged it up to dry. She then just stared at the toothbrush that she assumed was Max's, who else's would it be?

 _She does hate it when I used hers when we were kids… Is it crossing the boundaries if I use it now? Especially now that we… Fuck, I don't even know where we stand._

Deciding it'd be best to just not use it, she opted to gargle profusely instead. When she looked up and saw herself on the mirror after spitting it out, she noticed bottles of pills hidden from view.

Chloe was never nosy, really, it was more of Max's job when they were little. But curious, that she can be.

Eyebrows knitted, she looked each one of the bottles.

 _Christ… xanax, restoril, fluoxetine…? What the hell?_

Chloe only shook her head before putting it back. _It's not my business. Remember, you don't even know where you stand with her._

But when she walked out of the bathroom, she can't help but try to figure things out. Whether it's about what she just saw or where she stands with Max. Besides, what better way to bond than sleepovers?

With that in mind, she jumped immediately on Max's bed where the brunette sat.

"Whoah," Max giggled. "You surprised me."

Mimicking the freckled girl's position, cross-legged, she then faced her. "Hey."

Max chuckled while shaking her head. "Hey."

 _Why does it feel as if nothing has changed, and yet everything is so different?_

Like how the hue of her eyes, the contrast of her freckles are the same but it's different because… there's _more_ to it now.

 _I'm not making sense, aren't I?_

"Well," Max stood up and set aside some books and papers Chloe didn't even noticed that were there. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat."

"Getting rid of me already?"

"It's not that," She smiled. "I have to wake up early to make Victoria breakfast before she goes to work."

Chloe raised an eyebrow.

"Ah," Max waved her hand off. "Long story short, I owe her something."

Chloe thought deeply about that for a minute before shaking her head, "Alright, I know when I'm not wanted." She stood up and dramatically left the room. Before the door could close, she heard Max giggled softly.

And for some reason, that made her smile.

She then went to her own room, closed the lights, and went to bed. But she can't even close her eyes. And she just stayed there, staring blankly at nothing, thinking about everything.

She thought about how _fucking stupid_ it is to accept Max just like that. Left when everything was shit, didn't answered back to texts and calls, only to just bump into her after eight fucking years, then _BAM!_ Just like that. No shouting, no anger and hatred flowed like she expected. Just… happiness. As if the longing has finally quenched.

Groaning at herself for such a corny thought, she sat up and looked at her phone to see it's 12:01 AM.

 _Time, time, time, blink and then you'll miss it._

Before she knows it, she stood and went straight to Max's room.

 _What the hell am I doing._

The cool moonlight filtered the room, and she can see Max's figure slumped on the bed. Chloe probably lost her mind when she went straight to her room, but she guessed it was never found when she slipped in right next to her.

Neither girls were surprised at each other. Chloe wasn't surprised when she faced a very wide awake brunette. Max wasn't surprised when the taller girl laid down beside her. Then they just stared. Chloe lost count how many times two different blue hues clashed in just less than twenty-four hours.

"Hey," Chloe croaked.

"Hey," Max croaked back.

Silence.

"We're still friends, right?" Chloe feltlike she suddenly went back to being a lanky tween again, asking Max the same question every time they fought.

It was always the same answer.

"Of course." ... And it still is. After all these years.

Chloe's lips curled. "Friends tell each other things, right?"

She just nodded.

The taller girl frowned, "You're not telling me something."

She nodded again.

Chloe frowned deeper, "You're not gonna tell me?"

"I will," She whispered, "I just don't know how."

Then it was silence again.

Max then encased her blue orbs away from Chloe's sight. The latter girl just looked, counting her freckles like when they were kids. Fifty-two dots were added, most were probably from the Californian heat.

"I'm so sorry, Chloe." Max still has her eyes closed but it opened afterwards. "I'm sorry that I left you so abruptly. I'm sorry that I haven't contacted back. I'm sorry that I didn't tried hard enough to reach you."

Chloe didn't knew what to say. She sure as hell know it's not fucking _okay._

"I know it's hard, losing William—"

"Do you, really." There was a bite to her tone. Of course, she can't just forget the hurt she felt.

Something glistened down the brunette's cheek. "Yes." She whispered above her breath. "He's like a father to me too, Chloe."

"But he's not your father now, is he? What do you know, huh?" Emotions were always harder to control. "I was in a bad place, Max. My dad dying is already bad enough, but knowing that your best friend is leaving soon after? _Fuck_ , to be honest, it was okay for you to leave, but, _Jesus_ , it was _not_ okay to ignore me when I needed you the most! Tell me, then, what do you know about _losing everything!_ "

Max closed her eyes, flinching. Chloe's deep breathing can be heard, her eyes tearing a bit. She clenched her fists, trying to calm herself down.

 _I'm not sure if she deserves that anymore. But I at least deserve to let these out._

With her eyes still closed, Max said softly as opposed to Chloe's outburst, "Three years ago, my parents went to Arcadia Bay to visit me."

For a few minutes, only their breath can be heard.

"But… I visited them instead… in the hospital." Chloe's breathing stopped. "Some drunk lunatics riding motorcycles were on the road with them. It got out of hand that dad swerved just as another car went forward." She chuckled blankly. "They were fine for a few minutes before the car exploded."

Max sucked in a deep breath, her eyes still closed, eyebrows were knitted. "Mom died immediately. But dad somehow flew out of the vehicle. He didn't caught on fire, but he had serious damages."

Max's pillows were starting to get wet. "He was bed-ridden for w– weeks, barely waking up. That is until the internal hemorrhage took over. The doctors tried, but… it was too late." She choked on a sob.

Are there really proper words to say to that? Fuck, no. Chloe knew, it wasn't words that are needed, it's comfort. So she hugged her close. After a few moments, Chloe only then noticed that there were tears flowing down her cheeks too.

She felt the smaller girl in her arms tremble, trying to tone down her sobs, her hand covering her mouth. "M– Maybe if I haven't called them to visit, may—"

"Shh," Chloe rubbed her back, before whispering "It's not your fault, Max. You couldn't have known."

It broke Chloe's heart, especially when Max let out another blank chuckle, "I– I mean, think about it, I was planning to meet up with you again, I held it for _a fucking month_ , too chickenshit to do anything. Then I found out you left. Then, months after… _Shit_. It's p– probably karma for being selfish for years."

"Max Caulfield! Don't you _ever_ say that! No one deserves that. Not me and especially not you." Max's only respond was inhaling firmly, trying to control her breathing.

 _Jesus fuck, you've been hiding this the whole time, Max? Fucking hell._

Chloe absentmindedly continued rubbing her back until the smaller girl fell asleep. The punk stayed awake for an hour, pondering everything once more, then finally closed her eyes.

oOo

" _I hope you checked the perimeter as my step-ass would say. Now, let's talk bidness–"_

" _Not as much as I hate thinking it. Max, we have to find Rachel soon. We have to…"_

" _Let's talk about your superpower."_

" _Probably easier to write than to visit me. I don't mean that in a bitchy way."_

" _That's Rachel's bracelet. Why the fuck are you wearing her bracelet?"_

" _After five years, you're still Max Caulfield."_

" _I wish Rachel was here. She would totally love being in here at night…"_

" _I, er, know it was your birthday last month… This was my father's real camera… I want you to have it."_

" _I can't believe she was banging Frank! Rachel straight up lied to my face!"_

" _Big whoop. You can't call me once in five years and now you're all over some beeatch you see everyday at school? I see how you roll."_

" _There's no way we could've guessed this is what would happen to us when we grew up…"_

" _Oh, Rachel, no, no. Please, not her!"_

" _I loved her so much…"_

" _How can she be dead?!"_

" _What kind of world does this?!"_

Chloe opened her eyes.

Groaning, she buried her face on the pillow her head was laid on. _Shit, not this again._ Chloe's so fucking confused as to why the dream is so persistent on taking over her mind, or at least her dream mind. She's been dreaming about _whatever that was_ for weeks already!

 _What the hell was that about? Making me think complicated shit first thing in the morning? Fuck you, too._

That's the thing, her dream was all over the place. Like a single puzzle piece is shown and yet _she knows_ where it will fit, perfectly well. She knows the chronological order even if it's scrambled. She knows _every single detail_ without even taking a single second to think.

The punk sighed, trying to relax and just forget. She felt the cool air the morning gave but was overruled by the calming warmth the sun delivered through the window.

She just noticed how soft the bed was… it contrasts to the bed she owns. Sitting up, she looked around and suddenly remembered where she was. Max wasn't around.

She ran her hand through her hair before wetting her lips and standing up. She then left the room after fixing the bed then went downstairs, seeing that her clothes were not in the best shape to wear again.

She followed the clattering sounds of the utensils were making and saw Max and Victoria already eating breakfast, with the latter girl holding her phone.

"Good morning." Max greeted. "I made some scrambled eggs and pancakes, but there's some bacon too, if you like."

Chloe just stayed by the doorframe, baffled.

 _God, if you'd asked me years ago that Victoria and Max would have a… polite breakfast together, I'd say y'all crazy. They're just too different to be this… friendly._

"I think your dog is broken." Victoria smirked, glancing sideways at Chloe before facing her focus on the phone back.

"Coming from a bitch." The taller girl muttered under her breath and rolled her eyes.

Victoria opened her mouth, about to say her rebuttal but was cut off by Max. "Victoria, aren't you going to be late?"

The blonde just glared at her before she stood up and left the room gracefully. How? Chloe's not sure. Once she was out of earshot, Chloe commented, "Now, look who's the obedient bitch." She then scoffed smugly.

"Chloe." Max started.

The punk raised both of her hands, shrugging, "I'm just saying. Sheesh, you have that girl wrapped around your small pinky. What the hell did you do to her, Caulfield?" She pulled out the chair facing Max and sat down.

Max only coughed and then drank the water that was placed beside her plate. Chloe can see the mousy girl's face reddening.

Chloe widened her eyes. _Interesting._ She felt mixed-emotions.

"So…" Chloe tried breaking the awkward silence, for her at least. Mulling over some topic choices, she then continued, "What's Victoria's job?"

 _Eck, boring. Although, that is a safe option than just blurting out 'Have you and Queen Bitch fucked?'._ _I mean, how is that any of my business anyway?_

"It's not a job, per se. She's trying to prove to her parents that she can run the Chase Space at the moment. I'm not quite sure about the details."

"How 'bout you? Aren't you suppose to be getting ready for work?" Chloe inquired while taking a bite on the bacon.

 _Can never go wrong with bacon… damn, that's good._

"The kids are actually out for today, they get antsy when they get cooped up inside the school premises. So, they go out, like a mini field trip, once a week." Max took the last bite of her scrambled egg and drank the whole glass of water.

"So, you'll just be here all day?" Chloe asked and leaned forward, then whispered, "Can we thrash the place? Or at least find buried treasure? Maybe she has a secret Red Room?"

"No, what you can do is leave as soon as possible."

Chloe snapped straight, almost falling out of her chair, when she heard Victoria's voice. _Jesus Mary fuck! Stop popping out of nowhere!_

The blonde was wearing a formal attire, her hair was neatly straight, and tucked comfortably behind her ears. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Chloe.

She then faced the brunette. "Your boy's coming home today, right?"

"Yeah, I think they'll be here by noon."

"You should go outside. The maids are gonna go ahead and do some general cleaning in this place, don't want him to be wheezy afterwards from the dusts."

 _Damn, ya boy's a weakling, Max._

By then, Chloe was so curious about Max's mysterious… love interest. They never really talked about it. They haven't talk much about anything, really. Just the general gist of what's happening in their lives now.

"Yeah, that would be best. Hey, Che, wanna come with?" She smiled cheekily, her eyes showing —or rather, _hiding_ — something.

 _Uh, pretty sure third-wheeling is never fun._ "As long as there is free food, sure, why not."

 _Why the fuck would you say that?_

"As long as you're out of here." Victoria side-commented and before Chloe could retort, she left.

"Bitch." She muttered lowly. "How can you live with her, Max?"

The brunette smiled warmly, stood up and started gathering hers and Victoria's empty plate. "There's more to Victoria, Chloe."

The taller girl only rolled her eyes. Max continued cleaning up the table and went to the kitchen, leaving the plates in the sink.

"I'll just take a shower." Max informed before leaving the room.

Scraping the last bit of food from her plate, Chloe said, "I'm gonna head back home for a bit, change my clothes and all. I'll be back afterwards." She then put her plate with the others in the sink.

"Sure!" The brunette shouted from the other room.

When she got inside her unused room, she grabbed her phone from the bedside and saw many missed calls and messages.

 _Shit. Rachel._

oOo

Chloe bit her lip, her fingers from both hands were buried in her messy violet hair. She was pacing in front of their apartment door for five minutes now. Inhaling deeply, she just went ahead and opened the door.

Or at least tried.

When she heard the _click!_ sound once she turned the knob, she grimaced and banged her head against the door. She composed herself after a few minutes then knocked timidly, her head still resting on the wooden door.

Then there was suspenseful silence for a second or two, before the door opened revealing a clearly distraught blonde.

"Chloe!" To the punk's surprise, the small blonde put her arms around her, jumping in the process because of their height difference. "I was so _worried!_ I thought you were drunk and passed out in some smelly alley! Or– or– _fuck!_ I missed you." She then buried her face on the taller girl's chest. Chloe felt tears staining her hastily put shirt.

Snapping out of her senses, Chloe hugged the girl back and whispered, burying her nose to her golden mane, "I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm sorry that I worried you."

Rachel let go, "Where were you?" She wiped away the few tears staining her cheeks.

"I–" Chloe started, "I stayed with a friend."

"Shit, I'm a shitty girlfriend, oh my god." Rachel tried to stop the tears that kept on coming back. "Fuck, I'm so sorry, C, I fucked up."

Chloe felt her chest fell, "Hey, hey," She grabbed the girl's face when she kept on pacing and pulled it close to hers, their nose touching softly. "We're both shitty girlfriends, alright? We _both_ fucked up. This is just another silly fight, we can get through this, we _always_ do."

Rachel let out a relieved sigh, her face shining already when she smiled. With lidded eyes, she croaked out, "I love you."

"I love you too." The smaller girl then leaned forward capturing Chloe's lips onto hers.

 _Mhm, road to make-up sex, here we come!_

But Rachel pulled away. Still smiling, she said, "I should get ready for work."

 _Or not._

The taller girl groaned, tilting her head back, exasperated. "You're still a fucking tease, angel."

"Part of my charm," She winked at her, already by the bathroom doorframe, and entered inside.

Chloe just shook her head, smiling stupidly. _Voilà! Just like that._ She suddenly frowned. _And yet, nothing is still talked about._

When Rachel got out of the shower already dressed, Chloe then blurted out. "We're still gonna talk later tonight, okay? Like, _really_ talk, no more postponing it."

"Of course, C. It's already way overdue." She smiled warmly. "I'll be home early okay?" Cheekily, she pecked Chloe's lips.

She just chuckled. Rachel was preparing her make up when Chloe suddenly said, sitting on their bed, "Uh, just to inform you, so you won't freak out." The blonde raised an eyebrow from the mirror, uncapping the lipstick. "I'm going out with Max today."

Rachel dropped the lipstick. "What?"

 _Why did she—_

It suddenly dawned on Chloe. " _Oh–_ Oh, _shit._ Wow, I worded that wrong." She slapped her forehead. "What I meant was, I'm third-wheeling with Max and her boyfriend."

The blonde raised both of her eyebrows, face neutral before she let out a relieved sigh and softly chuckled, "Why would you do that? Guess she pegged on the other side?" Chloe thought she heard her mutter _'that's good'_ , but she didn't saw her opening her mouth.

Shrugging it off, she replied, "They promised free food." _Or something like that._

Rachel shook her head, laughing. "'Hey, kids! Want some free food?' I can see it now."

"Oh, shut up, you'll be late now if you keep on talking." The taller girl crossed her arms.

" _Shit!_ " She exclaimed when she looked at her watch. "Bye! Love you!" She hastily kissed other girl and grabbed her bag before leaving their apartment with a smiling Chloe behind.

oOo

"So, what do you wanna do in the mean time?" Max questioned and looked at her watch. "We still have two hours to kill."

Chloe pursed her lips, squinting at the weird figure that is displayed. "Say, why does Vicky owns these weird art shits?" She straightened her back. "And for your question, it depends, how long can we roam around this mansion? _Ooh_ , I bet she has some entertainment center somewhere, with a huge plasma tv and shit. Oh!— _or a pool!_ "

The smaller girl let out a soft laugh, "One, those weird art shits actually cost _thousands_. Think twice before mocking them again." She rolled her eyes at her own statement. "Two, I don't know. I haven't really explored this place. And three, I'm not sure about that huge plasma tv, but there _is_ a rooftop pool."

Chloe widened her eyes. _Okay, I think I might steal one of these_. She sneaked a glance at the oddly shaped sculpture. But wait— "A rooftop pool! A _rooftop_ pool! Holy sh–"

"Weather's too hot at this hour, Che. But, if you want to have skin cancer, be my guest." Max's hand showed the stairs leading up.

"Fine." The taller girl grumbled, "Exploring the place, it is!"

oOo

"What the hell?! There are still _more floors?!_ " Chloe panted, glaring at the long-ass stairs. She's already slumped on the floor.

Max just crossed her arms and looked at the other girl, amusement dancing in her eyes. "We've only been on the third floor, Che. This already leads to the rooftop."

"Who the fuck would have a fucking five thousand square meters of a house _and have third floors with a rooftop in it?!_ " She's exaggerating of course. Maybe. Probably. Who knows.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to see the pool first." The freckled girl retorted, holding back a laugh. "C'mon, you big baby, maybe we can dip our feet in the pool and let an umbrella cover us or something." Max then grabbed her arm and dragged her to the stairs.

"I will happily let myself drown." The punk groaned, letting her body weigh down on Max who's trying so hard to get her up.

"Jeez, Chloe, where do you store your weight if you're this thin? Most importantly, how do you keep yourself toned when you're out of shape?" Max finally gave up and let go of the taller girl who now fully-laid down on the floor.

Chloe looked up at Max's upside down face who held an amused smirk, warm, blue eyes, and constellation of freckles.

 _Pft, warm, blue eyes? The hell was that?_

"Admittedly, cigarettes were never good for your health."

She scrunched up her face, "Maybe you should quit?"

"Easier said than done." The girl lying down exasperated. Gotten enough rest, she finally stood up. "Alright, I'm up!"

When they conquered the flight of stairs ( _Thank God!_ ), Chloe was astonished at the view. "Damn," She whispered to herself.

She appreciated the few buildings and palm trees around, she can even see some few beaches here and there. Then she started feeling the heat, her eyes were squinting at how bright it was.

She looked around to see Max have moved those big umbrellas thingy — _fuck if I know —_ by the pool ledge and was removing her shoes and socks. She then folded her stupid mom jeans up to her knees and dipped her feet in the pool. She looked up, her eyes were squinted too, her brown locks waving around her face being blown by the small wind. She smiled and waved at Chloe to come.

So she did.

The older girl removed her black boots and socks then went ahead beside the brunette to dip her feet since she only wore a knee-length short. It was originally a pants that she bought in a thrift store with a bell-bottom, she cut if off, obviously. Some loose threads were hanging here and there.

She removed her leather jacket, and it showed her band sleeveless shirt ( _which I also cut off the sleeve_ ) and her ever prominent tattoo. She then leaned backwards, her arms supporting her.

"What's the story behind that tattoo?" Max suddenly asked.

"Hm? This old thing?" She looked at her sleeve. "Not much, really. Just something that a seventeen year old Chloe would do, desperate for change… or get attention. I dunno."

"Isn't that prohibited since you're still a minor?" She scrunched her nose.

The older girl just scoffed, "It obviously didn't stopped me, now did it?"

"You were called The Unstoppable Captain Price of the Deep Sea." Max laughed.

 _Damn, that was corny. What were you thinking, little me?_ _At least make it awesome._

"Ugh, groan. Don't remind me."

Max abruptly stopped. With her eyebrows scrunched together, she asked, "Why not? I think it was cute, playing pirates as kid, seizing the day, finding buried treasures…"

"Yeah until…" _You left._ "We grew up."

"Should've stayed in Neverland then?"

Chloe's face blanked and looked at the girl trying to cover her laugh, her hand covering her mouth. She suddenly stopped and raised both of her hands, "Hey, it can be viewed as an allusion."

"Shut up, smartass." The punk shoved the laughing brunette. "I'd love to throw you into this pool, but I'm feeling nice for a change."

"Thank goodness!" Max dramatically placed her hand on her chest, the other on her forehead.

"Don't tempt me, Caulfield!" Both girls just laughed then it was silence.

"I'm–" Chloe began. "I'm sorry, by the way." Max just looked at her questioningly. "About your… your parents. And for guilt-tripping you last night. That was really uncalled for."

"It's okay," She smiled half-heartedly. "You didn't know."

"Still…" The older girl pursed her lips. "That was a shitty thing to say. I'm… I'm really trying just to forget what happened, but it's just– you know." She sighed. "Hard. To forget everything."

"Chloe," Max then held her hand. "I don't want you to forget what I did wrong, it's unfair to you. I'm making it up to you, remember?"

 _Shit, this is suppose to be about her. Fuck._

She was about to say something when a loud chime came out of nowhere. "What was that?"

"Someone's at the door." Max stood up and grabbed a towel to dry her feet and grabbed another one for Chloe.

 _Uh…_

"Speakers were put everywhere." She explained briefly. "Hey, can you get that, I'll just quickly clean up." She said referring to the already misplaced umbrella and used towels.

"Okay." After she'd put on her shoes, she went down.

 _So glad that it's fucking easier to go downstairs. Thank you, gravity._

When she opened the door, she first saw a brown haired guy, carrying a small school backpack, his brown eyes widening. "Uh… did I get the wrong house?"

Chloe squinted her eyes, "Do I know you? You look familiar."

He reddened. "Wouldn't that be fortunate."

"Oh!" She snapped her fingers. "You were that science nerd who almost destroyed Blackwell's chem lab! Mrs. Grant won't stop talking about it, talk of the school too. In my own opinion, you should've blown the whole school up."

He squeaked. "Um… yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking squeamish. "Warren, Warren Graham." He introduced, letting out his hand for a shake.

Chloe just stared at it, her brow raised.

"Uh," He cleared his throat, "Is Max around?"

 _No fucking wa—_

"You be careful, okay?" Chloe looked up when she heard a soft voice and saw a girl, her blonde hair in a neat ponytail carrying a small child, and was walking towards them.

"Chloe, who is it?" Max popped up behind her.

"Mommy!" The child bounced in the poor girl's arms, trying to not let him fall before she put him down when she neared the door and he ran towards Max. She picked him up immediately. "I mwiss, mommy."

"Aw, I missed you too, baby." She kissed his button nose and he started giggling.

Chloe just widened her eyes even more.

* * *

 **A.N.:** ** _Anyways, sorry it took long. School was hectic. And also..._ _Wow. Can I just say thank you for all the support this story already has, and it's what, a prologue and a chapter in? Crazy. I know it's not much to others, but coming from me who never actually wrote something for anyone aside from myself, and for some people complimenting it? Wowza._**

 ** _Especially that it's fanfiction. It's my first time writing in this genre, and for someone to comment that it felt truthful but more adult (which was my goal!), it really warmed my heart. I_ _was also doubting my English skill_ _(especially the tenses!)_ _since it's not my first language, but you can always point out nicely if there are any grammatical errors. Thank you again for reading!_**


	4. Just a young heart confusing my mind

**Chapter 3:** _Just a young heart confusing my mind_

Chloe badly wanted to smoke right now. More preferably, a good weed.

But… kids. There are too many kids.

 _Hey! Look at Ms. I-don't-give-a-fuck-nor-damn giving a fuck_ and _a damn for children!_

Hm. She does know her limits... Or she knows how parents can rage when they see someone smoking in a children's playground.

 _Hell, they're already giving me the stink eye and I'm just chilling here._

She's very much aware that she stands out from all these tiny, innocent children… their parents probably thinking she's a drug dealer.

 _Pst, hey, kid, want drugs?_ _Yes, I promise, they're sweet._

The punk just snickered at her own thought.

Chloe stood at the very far side of the children's park, leaning against a tree, her arms crossed. She can smoke here, it _is_ a very secluded place. That is until some kids literally ran over there and played in that spot.

She let out a sigh.

Internally groaning at the giggles —mostly annoying screeches— of the little demons running around, she trudged forward near the kids' playground — _with the slide and swings and everything_ — and sat on the stupidly big-eyed giraffe bench. At least the kids in this spot are tamed. Chloe looked around while thinking why the _hell_ is she still doing here?

She looked at her far right to see a… _brunet and… a brunette…? Fuck, what's English even._

From her perspective, she saw that guy — _Waldo, was it?_ — with a laptop on his lap, typing while he smiled, nodding at the brunette beside him who's holding some papers and saying something while pointing at the screen. Did she mention they were _really_ , _really_ close to each other? Their shoulders were practically merged.

She doesn't even know why she's sharing this small detail, it's not that it irked her.

Chloe's lips were pursed for whatever reason but were gone a moment after, her brows rising up simultaneously when a small child with a thick dark mop on his head ran towards the busy couple. He leaned on the man's leg by the side, looking at the screen curiously.

His nose scrunched when he can't understand what's on the screen, he then grabbed the guy's jacket and pulled it towards him. Covering his mouth with his chubby hand, he whispered something to him and gave him a small flower, obviously picked from the flower bushes scattered all over the area.

The older guy just gave him a smile and ruffled his hair before he darted off to another direction. The brunet then turned his face towards the girl to his right, tucking the flower behind her ear.

Max just laughed, shaking her head, and pushed his shoulder playfully before turning back her attention to the laptop screen.

Aaaaaand her pursed lip is back.

She guessed she knew this would happen — _I mean, what other meaning can Third Wheel mean?_ She looked at the dark haired child running towards the blonde girl a few feet from her left before running again somewhere else. _Okay, Fifth Wheel then._ — she just expected that Max would at least _try_ to not let it happen?

She expected that the reason she invited her was to catch up more?

Whatever.

Just a few more minutes before she needs to leave for work anyway.

Really.

Why is she still here?

"Hello." Chloe looked to her left when she heard a soft voice greeted her. The blonde teen from earlier smiled brightly at her. "You look lonely, so I figured I'd come and say hi."

"Uh… hey… um…" Chloe's brows were knitted, trying to remember if her name was mentioned.

Seeing the punk girl's predicament, she said, "Lynn," She doesn't know how, but she smiled even more brightly, her blue eyes twinkling. "Lynn Marsh."

 _Right._ "I'm Chloe," She can only give her a slight upturn in the corner her lips.

"I know," At that, Chloe's forehead wrinkled. "Max mentions you all the time to my sister, and well, we're pretty close."

 _Mentions about me, huh? Wait… how, exactly?_

"Sister? How old are you anyway?" Chloe decided that making small talks is the perfect route to pass the time.

"Yeah, her name's Kate, and I just turned thirteen last month." She began sitting beside the older girl.

Not thinking much on what she's going to say, she blurted out, "You're not like most thirteen-year-olds I encountered, aren't you suppose to be whining to your parents wanting the latest iPhone or begging them to let you go to a party of some sort? Not babysitting… Max's child?" _Damn, did that sounded weird. Hell, it left a weird taste in my mouth._

Instead of being offended by Chloe's bluntness, she just giggled. "I guess you can say I'm raised differently... I suppose?" She shrugged. "And Kate's usually the one who takes care of Blake when Max is busy but she's occupied at the moment, so… here I am!"

 _Ah, so his name is Blake._

"Besides, he's an angel. They say two-year-olds are hard to deal with, always crying and whining, don't get me wrong, he does that, but it's not that frequent as oppose to everyone keeps on saying." She snorted then smiled. "Or maybe he's just like that because almost everyone gives him attention. I mean, how could you not? He's a charmer, for sure."

Chloe could only process the information for a while before the said child came to them, holding another flower. Tottering towards Lynn, he presented the flower to her, the blonde girl smiling lovingly at him before taking it and glanced at Chloe with a grin that says _'See?'_. She only gave her a small smile at that and looked at the child.

He was wearing a denim overall with a simple olive green shirt tucked underneath, in this direction, she can clearly see his dark hair is really thick and unruly. His cheeks are red from the heat, Chloe also noticed some freckles scattered every inch of his face especially at his nose bridge. Familiar blue eyes faced her when she stared at him long enough.

His orbs widened in confusion then shock, for reasons Chloe didn't know. The toddler then looked around and pouted when he didn't find whatever he was looking for. He patted at the single pocket on his chest and let out a lollipop, smiling and seemingly satisfied. He then went to Chloe and held out the candy, grinning brightly at her. The punk's brows went up in shock.

 _Aren't kids supposed to be selfish with their sweets?_

When she didn't accept the candy immediately, he pouted and said ' _get_ ' so adorably at her. Chloe can't help but smile genuinely at that and grabbed the lollipop. "Thank you."

Chloe was taken aback when he tried to get on her lap and immediately panicked when she felt like he's gonna fall. With unnecessary extreme caution, she helped him up. His eyes shone with curiosity when he stood on her lap, the punk supporting him by his sides. Blue orbs stared at each other before the smaller ones lit up when he took notice of the older girl's hair.

A stubby hand mushed at Chloe's cheek while the other reached out to her unnatural-colored hair, grabbing a handful. Chloe winced at that, "Alright, kid, that hurts."

The child — _Blake_ — must have understood her and let go immediately, his one hand still resting on her cheek. His mouth crimped at the sides and hummed, then surprisingly hugged her head. Chloe's eyes widened before realizing how awkward their position was. She heard Lynn laughed at the situation while she tried to pry him off.

"Okay, okay, I'm okay now, see?" Chloe tried to smile brightly at him, but for whatever reason, he laughed. All throughout, his one hand remained put on her cheek. This close, Chloe can see _some_ resemblance to Max; his eyes the most prominent, the color has the exact same shade, and the shape copied every curve off of the brunette's. His mouth too, although that's where it ends. Aside from the obvious freckles, of course.

 _Huh… kid's a looker._

Chloe brushed off the voice teasing at the back of her head that she just indirectly called Max attractive. Why she thought of that in the first place was also flicked aside.

Blake smiled at Chloe showing his baby teeth before settling down on her lap.

… _Now what?_

Admittedly, Chloe never held a child before, more so _handled_ one. She thinks they're annoying little fucks who seeks too much attention. And disgusting. They're disgusting.

But Lynn's right, Blake seems like a decent kid.

… Or at least for now, as far as Chloe's concerned.

Her thoughts didn't dwell much long because Max and Warner were apparently finished and already walking towards them.

"Hey, you guys wanna grab lunch?" Wilbur offered while Max smiled endearingly at her son whose arms were outstretched towards her, and almost immediately carried him in her arms.

"Ooh, can we—" Lynn's voice faded out of Chloe's mind and rather focused on Max and the toddler she's carrying.

Max smiled at him, like _really_ smiled. It didn't felt hollowed or as try-hard. It felt… happy. Like it should be. Blake softly placed his hands on both of her cheeks —it seems he likes doing that— and Max's eyes fluttered shut, almost as if she's reminiscing his touch. It stayed closed for a few good seconds before opening them again, the same shade of blue mixing harmoniously.

Chloe can't describe the interaction, it's just simply… love

 _Or, you know, as simple as love can get, I guess._

Life, in general, hasn't been _simple_ on Chloe, per se. Especially love. _Especially_ love.

Shaking her head subtly as if it'll shake away the thoughts permanently, she looked at Lynn wide-eyed when she was asked a question she didn't hear in the first place. "Um… uh, yeah, sure."

Whatever the question was, her response was sufficient enough as Lynn smiled brightly and practically jumped up and down as she latched onto Walter's arm and dragged him to a direction Chloe doesn't know.

Chloe just blinked profusely at the situation and especially at herself.

"You've been zoning out lately."

"Fuck, I know, right?" She meant for the comment to stay in her head but it seemed it didn't want to.

Max laughed softly, walking a few pace behind Lynn and Warnold while Blake nuzzled comfortably at her chest, his eyes twinkling at Chloe.

Chloe raised her eyebrow at him, slightly smirking. _You flirting with me, kid?_

As if they're using telepathy, the child giggled and dug his face deeper into Max's chest. "I see that you two have been acquainted." The brunette smiled.

"I'm not quite sure he knows my name yet," Chloe commented, Blake just smiled at her.

Max faced Blake, "You've been talking to someone you don't know? Didn't I tell you to not talk to strangers? Hm?" The brunette scolded him with a playful voice.

Blake must have sensed her playfulness and just giggled at her, stretching his hand to place it on her cheek. Max smiled lovingly at that. "Her name is Chlo-e." Max accentuated her name, cooing at the giggling child.

Chloe's still not used to this sight though.

 _Questions, should I ask questions? Am I in the right position to ask questions?_

"I wouldn't have thought you'd be starting a family this early." _Or we could do it Chloe-style aka being a blunt dickwad._

Chloe sensed a tensed discomfort in her laugh, "Neither did I."

 _Shit, sensitive topic... Should I proceed?_

"What? D'you accidentally got knocked up in a party while you were in Blackhell?" _Option corrupted, server is fucking stupid. What the hell, Chloe?!_ "Never pegged you as the party type though." _Ever thought of shutting up?_

Discomfort is obviously shown on her face, but she still let out a shaky laugh, her eyes darting everywhere. That's when it dawned —like _really dawned_ — on Chloe on how much she fucked up… _bad._

 _Who the hell asks that to someone they haven't talked to in years? Apparently me._

She opened and closed her mouth trying to say the _right thing_ for once, but it seems like it took too long and Max noticed. The freckled girl let out a laugh as if that conversation never happened, "I'm still not the 'party-type' really, never was. I was just convinced by a friend to go to at least one party once in my life."

Silence came after, and _god_ was it awkward. Blake must have noticed it too and whined, becoming fidgety in the brunette's arms. Max grunted before putting him down, "You're getting heavier day by day, hun."

Once let down, he ran to the brunet, clinging tightly to his arm. "So… how'd you met Wilby?" _That's a safe topic… right?_

The brunette looked at her, confused, before laughing, her hand covering her mouth. "You mean Warren?"

"What'd I said?"

Max just laughed again, and, yeah, maybe Chloe smiled a little bit when she felt like it's genuine. "He's the first one who came to me when I first went to Blackwell." She smiled then shrugged. "I guess nerds can sense other nerds."

 _I'd say._

Chloe's phone suddenly chimed, and she pulled it out of her pocket to see a text.

 **Dez:** _should i expect that you'd be here in 3 mins?_ — **12:27 PM**

 **Dez:** _or should i ready myself for another disappointment?_ _—_ **12:27 PM**

 **Chloe:** _u talk as if i skp work all d tme_ — **12:27 PM**

 **Chloe:** _ill b there_ — **12:28 PM**

 **Dez:** _you do it often enough_ — **12:28 PM**

 **Chloe:** _u_ _whiny btch i only did it twice — **12:28 PM**_

 **Chloe:** _ill b late tho. c u in prolly 20 mins_ — **12:29 PM**

 **Dez:** _*smiley emoji*_ — **12:31 PM**

Chloe grunted at that. "Hey, Max? I need to go, gotta earn money to live."

The brunette smiled at her. "Sure, Chloe. Do you want me to go with you to your car?"

The taller girl dismissed the idea with her hand. "Nah, I'll be fine. Just tell everyone I need to leave. I'll see you around, Maximillian."

oOo

"And what? You both fucked into the sunset?"

"I don't need that mental image, thank you very much." Chloe grimaced.

It had been a hectic day at the parlor and now, both girls are finally chilling out, with a few minutes to spare.

The dark woman donning a grey-dyed hair snickered. "You know what I mean."

"I mean, nothing's been resolved yet, there are things that still need to talk about," Chloe said seriously then playfully smirked at Dez. "Besides, the longer the wait, the better the makeup sex is."

Dez was older than Chloe by a good few years but because of the punk's monstrous growth spurt that Dez secretly thought is endless, the other girl is smaller by at least two inches. Her silver hair reaching to her blessed bottom and, in contrast to Chloe, she's more of a piercing kind of gal rather than tattoos. Her nose piercing is quite eye-catching resting on her fairly dark skin.

Dez just looked at her, not even at the very least surprised. "You horny slut."

Chloe did an exaggerated shrug before the bell from the door chimed indicating that someone just entered the parlor.

"Speaking of," Dez smirked at the punk. Chloe moved her head to the side, the other girl's own was preventing her to see. Once she did, her lips formed a smile.

"Rach," Chloe _kinda_ sighed out. She won't admit it though.

The taller girl became giddier when the blonde finally reached her and kiss her fully on the lips. They would've gone longer if Dez hadn't cleared her throat.

"Alright, you can leave now, Chloe. I'll just let the boss know." Dez rolled her eyes before secretly smirking at her then left the room.

Chloe let out a scoff at that then faced her girlfriend. "You're early." She said although she's still wearing that stupid smile she had when she first saw her came in.

Rachel laughed at her, thinking that she's _such_ a dork. "I told you I will, didn't I?"

"Alright, my princess charming, whisk me away."

Giggles can be heard in the night as the bell from the door chimed again, the outline of two girls with different heights came rushing out the door and into the taller girl's car.

oOo

The new clocked blinked, showing that it's 11:47 PM.

Colors ranging in the color wheel from the small screen of the laptop soaked the two girls lying in bed. Although the screen showed some random tv show, already on mute, neither girls cared as both of them only focused on each other. Lying on their sides, the blonde faced the taller girl — her thumb stroking the blonde's hand softly.

Chloe cherished moments like these, where they just stop and feel everything, take in everything. They were always moving, always wanting to run away. They barely had the time to just… appreciate what's around them. Too busy enjoying the thrill.

Which isn't always a bad thing. Not really.

It's just, it's a different pace.

And it feels… good.

"Fishes." Chloe scrunched her face when Rachel suddenly blurted that out. "One swimming above, one under." Rachel placed her arm beneath her head. "Compassionate." Chloe stared at her. "Sensitive… kind… hopeless romantic… understanding."

The punk smirked at Rachel when she caught on and scoffed when she said 'kind' and 'hopeless romantic'. _Yeah, doubt it._

"But…" The blonde croaked out. "Selfless… too selfless. And needy."

"Hey!" Chloe exclaimed. "Am not."

Rachel chuckled at her. "What's on your mind, Chlo?"

"Facebook asks me that enough."

She didn't laugh, not even a smile.

"Oh— um," Chloe shuffled awkwardly. She never thought about _it_ much when she's with other people, she's too tied-up in the moment… or chose to. Chloe never liked being stuck in her own thoughts, she knew how she can get.

 _God_ , it's the only thing she ever did when her dad died and Max left.

Before Rachel came.

So, yes, maybe she hadn't really _thought_ of it the whole day, just purposely stuck at the back of her mind. But it's still there nonetheless.

"Are we…" Chloe stared at Rachel's hazel eyes. So… how would you know which is the right question to ask? Chloe felt stumped.

"That was Gary Fulton." Rachel began. "He's the owner of this big-shot modeling agency and he's interested in doing a photoshoot with me." She looked intensely at the violet-haired girl. "Chloe, you know I wouldn't bail on you, right? I had to do it to get some brownie points, to get us a big home we always wanted. For _us_. I– I know that when we left Arcadia it didn't go as planned, we didn't exactly live the life we always wanted. I remember, in the first few weeks, when all the money was spent up, we barely eat _anything_ in a month. I was so desperate, Chloe, this isn't the life that I wanted for us, _for you_. I had… to do _something._ I–"

Chloe heard enough and hugged her girlfriend tightly. She heard the blonde sniffed a bit before nuzzling deeper into her neck. "You don't have to work so hard, Rachel," She barely needed to whisper, stroking her hair lightly. "Yeah, it isn't _exactly_ as planned — to live the big life or whatever. But isn't the main goal is to leave that hellhole? And, Rachel?" Chloe cupped her cheek. "We so _hella_ did." The blonde let out a small laugh. "Yeah, our first apartment was shitty, got ourselves broke for a while. But, we're here, alive and in a… let's say, adequate apartment. Maybe it's not the penthouse we dreamed of," She doesn't know if it was possible, but she came closer to the blonde. "Except, you're home enough for me."

Then there's only silence. Blue eyes staring at the hazel ones. It was such a beautiful silence, it was a silence that was filled with love.

That is until Rachel's laugh filled the room.

"See? You're such a sap. God, you're a dork." She continued to mockingly laugh at the punk while Chloe began to frown, letting go of her.

When she started to grumble, Rachel noticed and stopped immediately… Or at least _tried._

"Shut up." Rachel only laughed more when she saw her pouting. It's when Chloe let out a sigh and made an attempt to get up that Rachel went and grabbed her arm, her laughing stopped but a smile was still plastered on her beautiful face.

Chloe refused to look at her though, a scowl on her face. It instantly went away when Rachel kissed the crease between her brows. "I love it, though." She pecked her lips. "I love you, most especially."

"You better," The taller girl retorted, but when she saw her girlfriend's expectant look and wearing a smirk, she said, "I guess, I love you too." She sighed, exaggerated.

Rachel let out silent laugh this time and went back to cuddling with her girlfriend. "You said that Max is here? In LA?"

"Yeah, surprisingly."

"And?"

Chloe let out a sigh, "It's… weird, I guess. I didn't know what to even _do_. What do you say to your childhood best friend who went radio silent for eight years and suddenly bumping into you like some cliché movie scene?" She exasperated. "And get this, she lives with _Victoria fucking Chase._ "

Rachel's brows perked up, "Victoria's here in LA? And with Max?"

"That's not even half of it," Chloe unanimously continued. "Apparently, they're pretty close, and for all I know, they're fucking because Victoria kept on unintentionally insinuating _something_."

Rachel whistled, "Damn, Victoria, get it."

"No, not get it. It's fucking _strange_. I mean, Max and Victoria? In one pod?"

"Yeah, I get what you mean." Rachel smirked, she had her fair share of stories about the infamous first mate, "I mean, look at us." She stifled a laugh.

Chloe's lips upturned, "Yeah, but it's just… it's _Max_ for fuck's sake."

"Oh no, St. Max is screwing a mean girl, _blasphemous._ " Both girls chuckled at that.

But then, Chloe remembered one of the things that made it even stranger. "And…" Chloe's voice suddenly went quiet. Rachel sensed it and became serious.

"It turns out… when we… left Arcadia Bay, she was there. Rachel, she was _there_ , studying at Blackwell." Rachel noticed that the punk's eyes went glossy. "She… she looked for me. But—"

At this, Rachel frowned, feeling the jealousy bubbling once more every time a certain brunette is mentioned, but most especially… insecurity. "Do you... regret leaving with me, Chloe?"

"No! With you? _Never_." Chloe made sure she made that point across. "But— wouldn't it be great? You could've _finally_ met Max, and she could've met _you_. Fuck, if we waited sooner enough, maybe she'll be with us and not…" She stopped immediately, remembering the _other_ thing that made it even stranger. Rachel can barely hear it, but she softly uttered out, "Not a young mother."

Now, this came as a surprise for Rachel. From all the stories she heard, the brunette was a shy and geeky introvert, or as Chloe has said. Chloe mentioned that they once tried to drink Joyce's bottle of wine and Max was very reluctant to do so, but once she did, she didn't even enjoyed it. And, yeah, pretty much damaged the carpet along the way.

That point aside, Chloe's stories always depict Max as the 'goody-two-shoes' who is way too comfortable in her shell and her as the one driving her out of that shell.

"That's… hard." Rachel really didn't know what to say. Chloe doesn't either. So they didn't.

Rachel began to smirk, "Why don't we meet up then?"

* * *

 **A/N: _Yes, I'm alive. In my defense, I purposely waited for Episode 3 of LiS: BtS, maybe then I can write Rachel's character better... Meh, It still felt iffy, to be honest. With that said, I already felt like rewriting the first few chapters and the prologue, but that would be another project once I (hopefully) finish this._**

 ** _Have I guys told you that I make this up along the way? I mean, I have the general gist plot down inside my head, but I still don't know how to reach that specific moment. We'll see, I suppose._**

 ** _Anyways! Happy holidays, everyone! Please accept my short, humble peace offering. Hopefully, the next one would be longer._**


	5. As if life is perfect

**Chapter Four:** _As if life is perfect_

The clock blinked 4:53 AM.

Her deep breaths were the only thing she can hear aside from the white noise.

It was really deafening.

Her fist clenched on the porcelain sink. Hard. Blue veins can be seen—almost as if popping out, knuckles whitening. Tired blue eyes stared back in the mirror, worsened when she noticed dark rings surrounded it.

Shouldn't the color stand out? Why did the blue seem even _more_ duller?

 _Tick… tick... tick…_

She wetted her dry, pale lips, her tongue feeling the rough texture.

 _Pathetic. Fix yourself._

As if knocked out of a trance, Max blinked profusely her dazed state.

As if she only noticed it now, her brows furrowed, looking at her disheveled self.

As if nothing happened, she washed her face almost immediately, applying a good amount of concealer on her dark bags after she dried her face, biting and licking her lips to get rid of the dryness and putting on a small amount of lip stain—just to make it look… not pale. She then dusted a blush on her cheeks so she won't look as deadly and harshly tied her messy brown locks into a neat ponytail.

As if every problem magically disappeared, she let out a soft smile at the new girl in front of her.

As if everything is all better now, she smiled bigger.

 _That's better._

The brunette stared more at the mirror, her smile waning a bit. Only for a bit before she caught herself and lifted it up again.

 _Now, don't fuck it up._

Doing a once over to herself —though not as quick as anyone might think, her eyes darting everywhere to check if everything's in place— she left the bathroom.

The clock blinked 7:08 AM.

oOo

Chloe concluded that smoking isn't enough of a vice.

Her box of cigarettes already tossed out a while ago and her stash was already declining fast, and she's still not satisfied.

 _Fuck, I should_ really _watch my health._

But, shit, she still can't stop… _fidgeting_. She feels weird

She doesn't even know why she's nervous, in fact, didn't she wished _oh so many times_ that Rachel would meet Max and vice versa? Why does she have to act like this _now?_

Concerned that she damaged her lungs too much in a day (and wasting perfectly good blunt that she can't even enjoy), she discarded her already small joint.

 _Now what?_

She stayed still for perfectly four seconds before groaning and tapping her foot repeatedly, running her hand through her short, violet hair.

Grabbing whatever she can find to distract herself, she stared at her phone. _Alright, what kind of apps Rachel installed here._ _Hm, Instagram?_

Chloe doesn't really involve herself with social media. Yes, she tried, but it didn't really last long before she forgot all about it. She opened the app to see her bare Instagram account. It only contained only one photo, and it was of her and Rachel, when the older girl first created the account, or, she guessed, Rachel _did._

The punk smiled endearingly at the memory.

She then started scrolling through her feed. Photo of Rachel, another photo of Rachel, _Sweet! PissHead is touring_ , and another photo of Rachel.

And, yeah, maybe she liked — _heart… ed?—_ all of Rachel's posts even if it was dated two weeks ago.

With not much to look at her feed, she tapped on Rachel's profile and scrolled through there instead. It was mostly photographs of her, she can also see herself here and there.

She didn't notice the time, but she's already at Rachel's photos three years ago. One stood out the most to her, it was of the punk sitting on her rusted truck's hood, staring at the open sky, a campfire can be distinguished by the soft yellow-orangey lighting it gave from the side, juxtaposed by the contrasted shadow at the other.

It was a beautiful photo, indeed. Rachel's always been perfectly good at everything. She didn't even know this photo existed.

She then noticed a certain comment at the photo:

 _ **QueenV**_ _And everyone thought you were buried in a shallow grave. Photo's too dim btw and I thought you knew better_

Without thinking, Chloe tapped on the username.

 _Victoria Chase. Of course. Hm, the account looks abandoned though._

The last photo was dated May 28, 2014, it showed the familiar entrance of Blackwell with the caption _'Onto the next book_.'

Chloe scoffed at that, then read the comments.

 _ **sweetayyy24**_ _OMG! like how did u make the boring b-well entrance look enchanting? :o didn't think you capture landscapes tho, but it's still beautiful 3_

 _ **QueenV**_ _Yeah, first time trying it. This is for Max anyway._

 _ **sweetayyy24**_ _oh yeah! u'll visit her like today rite? tell her I said hi! hope she's like feeling okay._

Chloe frowned at that. The first thing that came to her mind was _'The hell happened to Max?'_ then followed by _'She's close with these Vortex Snobs?'_

It didn't take her long to find a selfie of Victoria and Max.

 _ **QueenV**_ _Maybe I should be a hairstylist instead. #maxspersonalhairstylist_

To the left, she can see Victoria wearing a small smirk pointed at the camera, with Max to the other side, donning a goofy hairstyle — her fringe tied at the front making her look like she has a horn on her forehead, other sections of her hair also tied haphazardly, pointing in every direction.

It would have been a happy photo if it wasn't for the fact that Max was wearing a hospital gown, and in the background, Chloe can see the tubes connecting to the dextrose solution. Max was smiling but it was weak, she looked like she hasn't rested properly for weeks — _months_ even.

This was dated three weeks before the first photo she found.

 _Fuck, that long in a hospital? What the hell?_

Chloe tried to piece more information by scrolling some more through her profile, the last photo that she can find with Max in it captured her laughing, her eyes tight-shut, a single daisy tucked on her ear, both of her hands gripped one of those polaroid cameras. A boy with dirty blond hair was sitting next to her, smiling softly at her.

 _ **QueenV**_ _I felt like I photographed a happily wed couple._

Chloe squinted her eyes, trying to find out who the boy was. But then felt stupid because, _duh_ , that's _Nathan. Fucking. Prescott._

Cue 'what the hell?!' part two.

Chloe just stared, dumbfounded, at her phone for a good few minutes trying to assess everything.

 _Okay, one, she's_ definitely _close with those Vortex assholes. Question is why? Or maybe how? Fuck, I can't think straight._

That would've been her cue to joke but Chloe's thoughts were all over the place.

She may or may not understand the fact that Max and, _ugh_ , Victoria being close but… _Nathan Prescott?_ That guy is a certified, grade a, spoiled _dickwad._

She remembered trying to help him and the little fucker wasn't even grateful, not in the _slightest._ So, yes, fuck him.

She also remembered the guy being so uptight and seemed… unstable, to say the least. But why does he look calm in this photo, it's as if he wasn't unhinged in the first place.

 _Whoah whoah whoah… don't tell me…_

Nope, nope. She is _not_ accepting that.

 _But… is he? Is it possible that he…_

She shook her head rapidly. _Yeah, no, I don't like that thought, buh-bye._

Feeling as though she received too much information already, she closed the app.

Fuck, okay.

She looked briefly at her phone for the time before pocketing it. _Rachel would be here any minute now._ It didn't take long before the blonde model showed and they took off.

oOo

Scrape, cling, clang.

And silence.

Merged together.

 _Fucking fuck, this is getting ridiculous._

"Well! That was tasty, can you tell that to your cook, Vic?" Rachel smiled brightly at the scowling blonde.

 _Thanks, Rach. I don't think I can stand the awkward silence any longer._

"Don't call me Vic." Victoria glared. Rachel only raised both of her brows and smiled mockingly at her.

Then there's more silence.

 _Oh, my god._

"I'll just wash the dishes." Max murmured then stood up and started collecting the empty dishes.

Chloe took this opportunity and immediately stood up, her chair almost falling. "I'll help ya out, Maximus."

"Actually, let me." Rachel smiled a little at Max then looked at Chloe knowingly.

Chloe rolled her eyes, grabbing her arm to pull her closer then harshly whispered, "Do you really think it's a good idea to leave me and _her_ alone?"

Rachel shrugged, "C'mon, it won't be the end of the world."

"I doubt it," Chloe muttered to herself.

Rachel just looked at her with that look. _Trust me_.

Internally groaning, she just followed Victoria into the living room. Both sat, but Chloe kept her distance. Four feet to be exact.

Another silence. Again.

 _Ugh._

"So…" She licked her lips, "I don't get it, you and Max being close, yanno? To be frank, you're mean and she's not, and I just… don't get it." _Chloe Price, star conversationalist._

"Do you honestly think it's safe for those two to be together?"

Chloe snapped her head towards Victoria who's staring at the floor, though her posture still poised as ever. "Why would you ask that? I'm more concerned that I'm here… with you… _alone._ "

"I don't know if you're that dense, but Rachel is obviously jealous of Max." She pursed her lips, finally looking at Chloe.

The taller girl scoffed, "And you would know because…? Besides, why would she be jealous?"

Chloe got irritated when the blonde let out a mocking laugh, "Aside from ridiculing me, she kept on glancing at you and Max. And don't tell me you've never told Rachel about Max repeatedly, Rachel gets moody every time you do." She rolled her eyes.

The punk girl full-on glared at Victoria. "Oh, please, you don't know anything about Rachel, in fact, you don't know anything about us, so stay out of it."

"And you don't know anything about Max. I do. You're also aware that you don't know anything about Max and me." Victoria leaned closer, her elbows resting on her knees. "I don't like anyone hurting Max, got that? And if _she—_ "

"Whoah, hold on." She won't admit it, but, yes, it hurt knowing that _Victoria Chase_ knows more about her childhood best friend. But anger dominated her feelings. "Are you her wife or something? You talk as if you _own_ her."

Chloe never got the chance to hear what she was about to say when someone called out from the stairs. "Aunt Towee?"

Victoria looked behind Chloe, Chloe following afterward. It's Blake, he's wearing a cozy pajama while rubbing his left eye, hugging a familiar one-eyed teddy bear.

"Good afternoon, sweetheart. How's your nap?"

Blake then walked towards the blonde's lap, muttering a silent "Good."

"You hungry?" Victoria asked, being so attentive towards him. And it's _fucking weird._

Blake only shook his head, "Where's mommy?"

"She's just washing the dishes, sweetie," Victoria said while helping him sit on the couch that he had trouble climbing.

His face lit up when he saw Chloe, " _Cohwee!_ "

Her anger diminished just by looking at the adorable child saying her name, she then cooed, "Hey, Blake." She glanced at the worn-out teddy bear. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Cap-ten!" He hugged Captain tightly.

For a moment, Chloe's eyes widened. This was a far cry from the shy kid she saw last time.

 _He can form sentence well too? Isn't he too young? Gah, what do I know._

"He has only one eye cause he killed see-monster." _Your mother actually swallowed it, but you don't need to know that._

"Aw, he's adorable!" Someone exclaimed, going towards the unaware child.

Rachel knelt down in front of Blake, wearing a big smile on her face. "Hello, you handsome little fella! What's your name?"

Blake flustered, hiding his face behind his stuffed toy. _Damn, Rachel, crank down the charm, will ya?_ "I'm Blake." He uttered softly.

Rachel cooed more pinching lightly his freckled cheeks. "Gosh, Max, you have really cute genes, look at this cutie!"

"O– oh, uh," Chloe looked up and saw Max fidgeting, her cheeks reddening. Chloe looked back and saw Blake fidgeting as well from Rachel's attention.

 _Damn, kid's like Max, you can really tell it's her child._

"Stop harassing him, Amber, jeez." Victoria crossed her arms.

When Rachel turned her attention to Victoria to rebut, Blake immediately went to Max's arms, hiding his face in the crook of her neck.

Chloe snorted at that, "You scared him, Rach, good going." The blonde model just shrugged at that.

"Do you want a bath?" Max asked softly to the little child in her arms, in which he responded with a shake of his head. "Let's get you change instead, alright?"

It was quiet once again when Max went upstairs with Blake in her arms.

Chloe glanced at Rachel to see her staring at Victoria with a look on her face. Chloe then glanced at Victoria to see her wistfully looking at the stairs where Max just went.

"So, Vic…" Rachel started.

Victoria's immediate response was a hard glare, "Didn't I told you to not call me Vic?"

The shorter blonde just impishly smiled at her, brushing off her comment, "Did you made a move yet?"

Her glare intensified, crossing her arms, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Oh my god," Rachel teased, "Don't tell me you're just drooling in the distance."

Chloe let out a snort before trying to contain her laugh. _God, that mental image…_

"Shut the fuck up, Kari." She then turned her gaze — glare? — to Rachel. "I don't know what you're trying to imply, but I'll let you know that we already 'fucked' and I don't get how is that any of your business."

Silence. _Again._

But this time, Chloe is more than happy to bask in that silence. It's like her mind just snapped and stopped thinking properly.

 _They fucked?_ Why? _And Max? She's… gay…? Or at least bi…? Fuck, what the fuck._

 _She's gotta be shitting— There's no— Fuck._

Victoria looked fed up with Rachel at this point.

Not even a week and Chloe already gained too many information about Max, but at the same time, it's not enough to say she _knows_ her now.

Just trying to get out of the thick tension that seemed to stubbornly stay between Rachel and Victoria, Chloe got up and left the room, not really caring where to go.

She walked but she didn't pay much attention to where she's going, her mind occupied.

 _Christ… do I_ even _know Max now? It's obvious that a lot has happened in eight years, but I never thought it would be_ this _much. It's like I'm meeting a new person for the first time._

"—nd she said they look like dirt!" A small voice can be heard through the slightly ajar door. Without even thinking, Chloe peeked inside Max's room.

She saw Max trying to put a shirt over the little kid's head, her back facing the punk. "Don't listen to her honey, okay? She obviously doesn't know that whenever a new freckle shows, it means someone likes you."

Chloe saw Blake reddening at that, "She… likes me?"

Max giggled, "Secretly," She whispered to him.

"Wait," His blue eyes widened, "Many people like me?"

"Of course," The brunette cooed, placing both of her hands on his cheeks, "I like you, Aunt Tori likes you, Aunt Kate likes you, Uncle Warren likes you too." _Huh, so Wally is no daddy. Somehow this made the possibility of Prescock being the– God, I hope not, that is_ so _much worse._ "And I bet Chloe likes you, maybe Rachel even _loves_ you."

His red face appeared once more, "She's very pretty,"

It took a second for Max to respond, "Yeah, she is."

A moment passed before, "Mommy?"

"Yes, baby?"

"I love you,"

"And I," She lifted him up, making him giggle, "Love," She closed the gap between them, her nose resting on his button one, "You." In this angle, she can see Max closed her eyes, her nose rubbing gently on Blake's.

The dark-haired child giggled, his small hands trying to push her face away only to put a few distance between them. He then rested it on both of her cheeks, "You have many too, many likes you too."

The brunette neither accepted nor denied it, she just hummed, smiling warmly at him.

Blue eyes suddenly turned towards her.

"Cohwee?"

And another pair pierced at her.

"Hey, Che," Max let out a small smile, "You needed something?"

Chloe tried to say, "Nothing," but could only mouth it, something clogging down her throat.

She's not sure what it was.

She then walked towards the bed where they sat and Blake went to her arms. Max stood up, went to the bathroom to wash her hands for a bit then seem to be getting something.

Chloe tried to peek what she's getting but suddenly Blake's hand went straight towards her hair, grabbing a handful.

"Ow," She exaggerated but chuckled anyway.

 _This kid's obsessed with my hair._

His other hand tried grabbing more but Max picked him up before he does.

She put him down on the bed and carefully placed a see-through mask over his nose and mouth. After that, she turned some device on, smoke starting to appear inside the mask. Max then gave him the one-eyed teddy bear, his attention immediately captured by it.

Chloe stared at the device trying to pinpoint what it was but it doesn't look familiar. "What's that?"

"Hm?" Max hummed, as if she just snapped out of a trance. "It's a nebulizer, it's for his asthma."

"Oh," Yeah, she remembered Victoria saying something along the lines of dust or something.

"You should've seen him when he was still a few months old, he kept on crying every time he uses it but will immediately stop once it turns off." Max chuckled at the memory as they looked at Blake who's apparently already in a world of his own, moving the bear around.

Chloe just stared at her. Somehow, it's weird how normal it is for Max to just say things like that.

"That…" Chloe barely said in a whisper. "That must have cost a fortune."

"Not that much," She pursed her lip, "But at that time, yeah." She blinked repeatedly, her eyes won't meet Chloe's. "It was a tough year, with mom's sudden death and dad's expensive treatment, money's tight. I– I had to find a job immediately. It was really hard, I was barely nineteen, Blake's asthma only got worse by the day. I was _so_ grateful Victoria's there to take care of him," _Teen Victoria taking care of a baby? I can't imagine._ "Victoria helped me a lot financially too, and I guess, she still is. I really owe her a lot."

Chloe didn't replied immediately. For a few seconds, she caught a glimpse of nineteen year old Max's life.

 _God, and I thought my situation with step-dick was bad._

"Wha… what about… Blake's father?" Chloe hoped this was the right time to ask.

Max only shook her head and replied dryly, "Blake has no father."

"Knock, knock."

Both girls looked up to see Rachel leaning on the doorframe.

Rachel showed a look for a second, her head tilting a bit to the side before smirking, "Hope I'm not interrupting anything." She crossed her denim-cladded arms, her toned legs accentuated by her stylish shorts.

"Hey, Rachel," Max greeted softly before giving her attention to Blake, removing the mask off and cleaning up.

"I'm getting antsy just being here with nothing to do, especially when I'm with Victoria, so I propose that we should go clubbing."

"Rach, it's only, what, two?" Chloe snickered. "And are you forgetting that Blake is underage."

"Ha-ha, funny Chloe is funny." The blonde rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Max, forget about this killjoy."

The punk snorted, "And what makes you think that she'll side with you?"

"I, uh, actually don't mind," She let out a small smile. "I can call Kate to take care of Blake for a while."

"I see how it is," Chloe jokingly glared at the brunette who's smiling innocently at her.

"I was thinking Victoria would do it 'cause uh," Rachel then visibly cringed, "You know what, I can't even imagine her taking care of a child." _You and me, babe._

Max chuckled at that, "You'd be surprised."

"If you don't want to see me then why are you still here?"

Rachel jumped when Victoria appeared behind her. "What the _f_ —"

 _See?! She pops out of nowhere!_

"There's a child here, Amber." Victoria rolled her green eyes.

With her hand on her chest, Rachel just stared at her wide-eyed. Only for a second though before she composed herself wearing that award-winning smile. "I actually decided to let you come after all."

Victoria only raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at her.

oOo

 _Thud, thud, thud, thud._

Max wasn't sure if that was the music's bass or her heart going haywire. The phone in her hand suddenly vibrated.

It may or may not made her jump a bit.

 _ **Kate:**_ _It didn't got worse, thankfully. He's now fast asleep again. And I know you're worrying about it, but it's okay now. Go have fun! (-)/ You're making me worry that you don't go out often enough. —_ **11:03 PM**

 _ **Max:**_ _I'm his mother, of course I'll worry. And a club isn't really my scene, you know that, everyone knows that. I just thought maybe this would improve the gap between me and Chloe.—_ **11:03 PM**

 _ **Kate:**_ _I'm sure you and Chloe would be fine, Max. —_ **11:04 PM**

 _ **Max:**_ _Do you think it's getting worse? Should I go to the doctors? I don't think he's improving, they said that this would lessen it._ — **11:09PM**

 _ **Kate:**_ _Max, you're overthinking this. You're suppose to be having fun! But you know I'll always be here if anything ever happened to Blake. —_ **11:10 PM**

 _ **Kate:**_ _Now do me a favor and keep your phone in your pocket and (I said this way too many times now) just have fun! —_ **11:10 PM**

Her phone remained in her shaking hands. She sighed, her grip tightened around the device. She then closed her eyes to stop the tears and her fast heartbeat.

"Hey," Max looked up to see Chloe wearing a leather jacket over a red shirt that has a print of a burning butterfly scrawled over it, her arms decorated by a few bracelets. "You alright?"

"Y- Yeah." She barely uttered out. It obviously wasn't fooling anybody.

 _There you go again. I thought you said you didn't want any attention._

Her grip tightened even more, she can feel her nails biting her skin. She _hated_ that voice.

It was her own voice.

She hadn't noticed Chloe sat down beside her, her ordered drink already in her hands. "What happened? You can talk to me, Max."

She considered this for a minute before finally saying, "It's… It's Blake, he had an asthma attack. Kate said he's gone pale and he kept on crying, I- I just…" She began massaging her temples. "Maybe I'm overreacting but _fuck_ , it hasn't been _this_ bad. Maybe I should really check—"

"Hey, hey," Chloe calmed her down, her hand rubbing her shoulder. "Is he okay now?"

"Yeah, but—"

"Then he'll be fine." This did not eased Max's worry. At all.

 _Just pretend that you understood, Jesus Christ._

 _For someone who seems to 'hate'_ _attention you sure like_ basking _in one._

 _You're ruining her mood, Max. For once, stop thinking about yourself._

 _Stop being a party-pooper and fucking_ smile already!

And she did.

Three years ago, she can't even lie to save her life.

Three years later, it's basically her life.

"Thanks," She said this one with a confident, practiced, even tone.

 _You're a poser, Maxine Caulfield. Fake._

She didn't protest with that voice. She knows how damn true that was.

After gulping her drink, Chloe asked with an impish grin, "You're in a club and no drink in your hand, something's not right, Caulfield."

Burying all burdened thoughts at the back of her head — though it kept on _gnawing_ at her — she let out a small laugh and ordered something strong.

She hated parties, she still does.

She hated drinking, she still does.

She hated that bitter taste, she still does.

And especially, she hated the hangovers after.

She still does.

But for the sake of forgetting? Even if it's only for one night, even if she _knows_ she should be responsible, even if she knows it won't solve _anything at all._

 _Fuck it._

"Whoah, damn, Max! Hardcore!" Chloe giggled, obviously a bit tipsy already.

 _God, how long was I sulking? Chloe must have drank a gallon already if she's getting tipsy now, even I know she isn't a lightweight… Do I? How_ did _I know? I haven't seen her for_ years _. Maybe she mentioned something? Fuck, how can I not know?_

 _Because all you think about is yourself._

"Shut up," She mumbled, her head already throbbing.

She's not used to strong drinks, or alcohol in general, anyway.

"What's that?" Chloe asked as the music got louder.

Max only let out an empty laugh, brushing it off with her hand.

Do people consider it silence when they're not talking but there's a loud music in the background? Although, Max thought, it doesn't really matter since both of them are busy downing drinks as many as they can.

 _What a responsible mother you are._

Shut _up_.

 _Good Lord, you're so pathetic. If you really wanted me to shut up, I should've shut my mouth_ ages _ago. Yet here I am. Did you forgot that I'm_ you?

More.

She needs to drink more.

"Easy there, Mad Max, you look like you're catching up all the years you haven't drink." Chloe chuckled, unaware of the thoughts plaguing the brunette's head for years now.

Max has no response.

She could only stare.

God, Chloe is beautiful.

 _And taken. With someone better than you, obviously._

There goes the familiar pang in her chest.

She only sighed and tried drinking the pain away.

Maybe she should've been wise and know that that doesn't do _jackshit_.

But she continued anyway.

To drink.

And to stare too, she supposed.

To stare at the girl who's also staring at another girl.

 _You mean, her_ girlfriend? _Christ, Maxine, stop being in denial._

Another drink for another pang.

Max took notice how blue Chloe's eyes were. She also took notice how it became blu _er_ every time she looks at her girlfriend.

She obviously makes her happy.

Max smiled at that.

 _Finally, you did something right for once._

She looked as Chloe's eye gone softer when Rachel laugh, when Rachel smiled, when Rachel danced.

Chloe looked… not angry. And it's all because of Rachel.

Drink.

Chloe blinked when her girlfriend was out of her sight.

She should be concerned that she went with a guy.

But…

 _Yeah, I trust her enough._

A series of coughing caught her attention. She looked to her right to see Max leaning down on the counter, her hissy fits of coughing stopped. She audibly groaned afterwards.

"Damn, Max, turned my head for a bit and you're already drunk." Chloe helped her up, her forehead creasing. _Is she really this lightweight? Why the hell would you drink a lot in minutes, Maxipad?_

"No," The brunette moaned, pushing Chloe away.

"Max, c'mon," The punk grunted.

"Max?!"

Chloe looked up to see an upset Victoria walking towards them. She then grabbed the brunette by her shoulders, Max leaning onto her almost immediately, burying her nose to the crook of her neck.

Victoria grabbed her face though, "Max—" She then looked at the empty glasses by the counter where Max was sitting. "Are you fucking crazy?! You know you can't handl—"

She was cut off when Max softly brushed her fingers to her cheeks.

Then lips.

Staring intensely at them.

Victoria felt weird.

Chloe felt weirder.

"Whoah, never thought of Max as the PDA kind of gal," Rachel suddenly appeared, wrapping an arm around Chloe.

"She's drunk," Victoria commented, oddly raspy.

Brushing off the mushy feeling she felt like she always does whenever it shows up, Chloe snorted, "She's _hella_ drunk, no doubt about it."

"We should lea—"

She kissed her.

Max kissed Victoria mid-sentence.

Green, blue, and hazel eyes widened.

While Max's specific shade of blue was closed.

Not soon after, green eyes were also closed.

And they're kissing.

Passionately.

Rachel whistled, "Damn, she wasn't kidding."

" _Rachel!_ "

"What?!" The blonde exclaimed, defensively.

Chloe only gave her a look.

"Yeah! Get some!" A random guy shouted from somewhere in which Rachel rolled her eyes and went to the two couple making out, grabbing both of their shoulders and pulling them apart.

"Alright, you can continue this when we get home." Rachel said to a drunk Max and Victoria. Although, Victoria's drunk on something else rather than alcohol.

Grunting, Chloe stood up from the stool, "Welp, looks like I'm driving."

That woke Victoria up from her dazed state. "Don't you fucking dare touch my car, Price. Besides, you're drunk." She glared.

Chloe put her hands up, "My ass already touched the seats anyway. Also, I'm just a little buzzed."

The rich blonde's rebuttal ( _heh, butt,_ ) stayed in her throat when Max suddenly groaned, leaning heavily on her. The annoyance that was scattered all over her face disappeared quickly, replaced with worry. "Fine, just don't scratch it."

Chloe was sure there was a threat after that but Victoria was so focused on Max not falling, her frown deepening.

"She's just drunk, I don't get why she's making this more dramatic than it should be." Rachel muttered at Chloe.

That's exactly what concerned Chloe. For all they know, Max is allergic to alcohol or something along those lines.

 _Fuck. I hope not._

oOo

"Why didn't you watched over her?!" Worry.

"Hey! She's an adult, and I'm not her mother!" Worry and guilt.

"You _know_ how she can get—"

Slam.

Chloe halted immediately at the shut door of Victoria's house.

"Did we overstayed our welcome?"

Chloe sighed, rubbing her forehead, "Rachel, they're obviously stressing ou—"

"Yeah, for nothing. Everybody gets drunk all the time, I don't see why they're babying her. Really, it looks stupid." The blonde crossed her arms.

"Maybe it's _not_ for nothing if they're freaking out. Why are you suddenly like that?" Chloe exasperated.

"Like what?"

"Like… I don't know!" The taller girl expressed with her hands, "Being nonchalant about this!"

"Because it's probably just nothing." She shrugged then as if on cue, a muffled wail can be heard from the house.

It brought a shudder down Chloe's back.

It sounded like it was filled with too much pain.

"That's some vocals."

Chloe glared at her, "Rachel! What is _wrong_ with you?!"

"Why do you keep on _grilling_ me? Boohoo, Max is a sad drunk, so what?" The blonde's face scrunched up. "I try so hard to keep up with you, and this is what I get?"

" _Keep up with me?_ With what?!"

Rachel looked like she's about to explode — like, Rachel-explode, being smashy and all — but instead, she just sighed, burying her face with her hands then shrugged. "Fine, you can go ahead and check up on Max since she seems to be in a _bad mood._ " She then turned around and started walking away.

Again.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Chloe shouted after her.

"Home." She answered without even turning around.

"How d– Eurgh!" Chloe's fist clenched, wanting to grab something, _anything_ , but decided to just ran her hand through her short hair.

 _Just to think everything is fucking dandy._

* * *

 **A/N: _Apparently, I suck at_** ** _updating... and how to end this chapter. Idk._** ** _And changing POVs? What was I thinking? Just hope It wasn't that confusing. I, um, am awkward, lol bye._**


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